Coal India Ltd (CIL), the world's leading coal producer, enjoyed a 19 per cent increase in net profit in the July to September quarter, thanks to a combination of higher volumes, higher receipt from interest income and higher realization in prices.

The coal giant said that its net profit jumped from Rs 2593.11 crore in the second quarter of fiscal year of 2011-12 to Rs 3078.08 crore in the same quarter of the current year.

The production grew 11 per cent to 89.09 million tonnes during the quarter under review, while net sales jumped from Rs 13,148 crore to Rs 14572.54 crore.

The company now aims to hit a target of 470 million tones at the end of current fiscal year. S Narsing Rao, CMD of the company, said, "I am confident to maintain this in the coming quarters and we should touch the 470 mt target at the end of this fiscal."

Income from interest during the second quarter reached Rs 2,092.85 crore, considerably up from Rs 1,786 crore in the corresponding period of last year.

However, the company also witnessed an impact of the National Coal Wage Agreement (NCWA) and a decline in e-auction prices, which slipped by Rs 153 a tonne to Rs 2,282 a tonne.