ITC quarterly net profit rises by 10.5% to Rs 2,500 cr

ITC Ltd on Wednesday posted 10.49 per cent increase in standalone net profit to Rs 2,500.03 crore for the September quarter of the current fiscal, helped largely by higher cigarette sales. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 2,262.5 crore during the same period of 2015-16 fiscal.

Total income from operations of the Kolkata-based company went up by 7.97 per cent to Rs 13,616.61 crore for the quarter under review as against Rs 12,611.29 crore of the July- September quarter of the previous fiscal, ITC said in a filing to the BSE.

“The company delivered another quarter of steady performance despite a challenging operating environment marked by continuing pressure on legal cigarette industry volumes, increase in input cost and subdued demand conditions prevailing in the FMCG industry,” ITC said in a statement. Revenue from the total FMCG business including cigarettes increased by 8.51 per cent to Rs 11,200.13 crore during the second quarter of 2016-17, from Rs 10,321.08 crore in the year-ago period.

During the quarter under review, revenue from cigarettes increased by 7.09 per cent to Rs 8,528.47 crore, from Rs 7,963.1 crore a year ago. Revenue from ITC’s hotel business grew by 2.50 per cent to Rs 297.34 crore, while its agri business increase by 1.96 per cent to Rs 1,880.06 crore.

“Segment revenue during the quarter was flattish in comparison to the corresponding period in the previous year reflecting the subdued operating conditions in the Indian hospitality industry, which continues to be impacted by excessive room inventory in key domestic markets and sluggish macroeconomic environment both in India and major source markets,” the company said.

Revenue from paperboards, paper and packaging business was up marginally at 0.03 per cent at Rs 1,331.41 crore. ITC’s net profit for the first half of year 2016-17 on standalone basis was up 10.29 per cent at Rs 4,884.7 crore as against a net profit of Rs 4,428.59 crore in the same period a year ago.

However, its net sales during the first half of the current fiscal was up 8.15 per cent to Rs 26,869.67 crore as against Rs 24,843.94 crore in the same period a year ago. ITC stock was trading at Rs 239.50, up 0.31 per cent, on the BSE.