ITC records 15.8% profits

KOLKATA: FMCG major ITC has posted an increase of 15.8 per cent in the profit after tax and 11 per cent in the net sales during the third quarter of the current financial year, compared to the corresponding period last fiscal.

The company’s net profit stood at Rs 831 crore, while net sales stood at Rs 3,458 crore during the quarter, ITC said. The company registered a 50 per cent growth in revenues from newer businesses in the FMCG sector such as food, lifetsyle, retailing and stationery. Revenues from hotels, paperboard and packaging business also clocked healthy growth. ITC, however, witnessed a muted growth in the cigarette business due to ‘significant rise in taxation incidence’.

Pre-tax profit for the quarter stood at Rs 1,226 crore, registering a growth of 15.5 per cent during the third quarter as compared to the same period last fiscal. Earnings per share of the company for the quarter stood at Rs 2.21. ITC said its corporate strategy was to create multiple growth drivers. It was currently focused on four business sectors like — FMCG, hotels, paperboards, paper and packaging and agri-business.