State mining giant Coal India Ltd. reported a 31% decline from a year earlier in second-quarter profit, following this year’s weak demand for electricity that weighed on prices and shipments of the fuel.

Net income in the three months through September dropped to 43.5 billion rupees ($494 million), Kolkata-based Coal India said in a filing Wednesday. That missed the average of analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Copious rains this year kept summer temperatures in check, resulting in lower usage of cooling appliances, among the biggest drivers of electricity demand in the country. India produces about 70% of its power from coal and cooler weather means lower consumption of the fossil fuel. The country’s expanding renewable power capacity as well as the rise of new mining rivals is al

See Full Page