Coal India Ltd on Wednesday said the company is aiming at investing Rs 40,000-50,000 crore as capital expenditure in the next 4-5 years. The Rs 17,000-crore capex (capital expenditure) for the current fiscal is "on track", CIL chairman Pramod Agrawal told investors.

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He also acknowledged that price revision is "inevitable" and this may happen soon. "We have spent Rs 7,000 crore capex so far and our Rs 17,000-crore target for the current fiscal is on track. We will invest around Rs 40,000-50,000 crore in the next 4-5 years, he said.

Most of the incremental capex will go into coal production and evacuation, he said. Asked about a mismatch between EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) and the increased capex of the miner, he said. "Our industry (mining) is not like any manufacturing entity in which an increase in capital expenses will translate into higher EBITDA. We have to carry out such expenditure to maintain production. Since last year only, we have invested heavily in production and evacuation," he said.

The Maharatna company said the capital expenditure plan will not be affected due to a fall in receivables as it has "enough cash flow" to manage the investments. As of October, the receivables of the coal behemoth were at Rs 12,000 crore, down from Rs 19,000 crore in March 2021.

First Published:Nov 24, 2021 9:46 PM IST