Coal India arm SECL files draft papers for IPO; promoter to offload 66.81 crore shares
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South Eastern Coalfields Ltd (SECL), a subsidiary of Coal India Ltd , has filed preliminary papers with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for an initial public offering (IPO) through which its promoter plans to sell up to 66.81 crore equity shares.
The proposed IPO is entirely an offer for sale (OFS) by Coal India, with no fresh issue component, according to the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) dated November 1. Consequently, SECL will not receive any proceeds from the offering, with the entire amount going to Coal India.
Incorporated in 1985 and headquartered in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, SECL is among India's largest coal producers. The company produced 176.29 million tonnes of coal in FY26, accounting for 16.94% of the country's total coal production, according to the DRHP, citing a Crisil report. It is the second-largest coal-producing subsidiary of Coal India, contributing 22.95% to the parent company's total output during the fiscal.
SECL's coal production increased 5.25% to 176.29 million tonnes in FY26 from 167.49 million tonnes in FY25. The company was accorded Miniratna Category-I status in March 2007 and completed 40 years of coal mining operations in 2025.
As of April 1, 2026, SECL had total geological coal resources of around 47.55 billion tonnes, accounting for approximately 11.50% of India's total coal resources. Its audited coal reserves stood at 4.61 billion tonnes, sufficient to sustain production for around 26 years at FY26 levels, according to the draft papers.
The company's Gevra and Kusmunda opencast mines in Chhattisgarh's Korba coalfield are among the world's largest coal mines. As of September 30, 2026, SECL operated 53 producing mines across 13 operating areas in the Korba, Mand-Raigarh and Central India coalfields. These comprised 19 opencast and 34 underground mines. Opencast mines accounted for 93.64% of its total coal production in FY26.
Financial performance
SECL's revenue from operations increased to ₹16,593.7 crore in the six months ended September 30, 2026, from ₹15,090.2 crore in the corresponding period a year earlier. Net profit nearly doubled to ₹2,174.3 crore from ₹1,140.9 crore during the same period.
For FY26, revenue from operations rose to ₹32,956.5 crore from ₹29,998.3 crore in FY25. Net profit increased to ₹4,754.5 crore from ₹4,540.4 crore over the same period.
Coal India subsidiaries line up IPOs
The proposed listing is part of Coal India's broader plan to unlock value from its subsidiaries through public offerings. In September, another subsidiary, Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL), filed preliminary papers with Sebi for an IPO through which Coal India plans to divest a 10% stake.
Earlier this year, Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL), another Coal India subsidiary, launched its maiden public offering. SBI Capital Markets, ICICI Securities, IDBI Capital Markets & Securities and Motilal Oswal Investment Advisors are the book-running lead managers to the SECL issue, while KFin Technologies has been appointed as the registrar.