Net income rose to Rs903 crore in the three months ended December from Rs831 cr a year earlier, Kolkata-based ITC said in a statement to the BSE
Jump to full article: livemint.com (in), 2009-01-19
Author: Saikat Chatterjee / Bloomberg
Intro: India’s biggest tobacco company, ITC Ltd, reported an 8.7% rise in third quarter profits on higher cigarette prices.
Net income rose to Rs903 crore in the three months ended December from Rs831 crore a year earlier, Kolkata-based ITC said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Monday. That’s in line with the Rs904 crore median estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
ITC’s cigarette sales rose 18% even after the government imposed a ban on smoking in public places, including offices.
Cigarettes had a 52% share in third quarter revenues compared with 49% in the same year-ago period
The company is expanding sales of shampoo, food, clothing and other goods as the government increases taxes and restrictions on cigarettes, which account for about half the company’s revenue.
“Cigarette sales have exceeded expectations,” said Abhijeet Kundu, an analyst at Mumbai-based Antique Stock Broking Ltd. “Increases in cigarette prices and some consumers moving to higher-priced filter cigarettes have contributed to the gains.”
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