ITC Q1 net profit up 20%, beats forecast

Country's top tobacco firm, ITC Ltd, reported on Friday a 20 percent rise in quarterly net profit on the back of higher cigarette prices and robust growth in its packaged foods and hotels businesses.

ITC, 31.7 per cent owned by British American Tobacco Plc, has entered personal care, apparel, retail and snack foods recently, but cigarettes make up two-thirds of revenues.

The Kolkata-based company said net profit rose to 7.83 billion rupees ($193 million) in the fiscal first quarter to end-June from 6.52 billion a year earlier, beating a Reuters forecast of 7.10 billion.

A value-added tax of 12.5 per cent imposed on cigarette sales from April has pushed up prices, and ITC has said it was concerned taxes and tight regulations can affect revenues.

ITC shares, valued at $15.6 billion, gained 3 per cent in the quarter, trailing a 12 per cent rise in the main index and a 5 per cent rise in the sector index.

ITC's Rs 300cr WB cigarette unit may be delayed

The Left Front has one more reason to be upset with the shipping ministry, which has already irked Left MPs by shifting the apex marine training college to Chennai at the expense of the existing college in Kolkata.

This time round, the ministry was reportedly sitting on the proposal forwarded by Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) to hand over to the company a plot of surplus land contiguous to the existing ITC cigarette factory in the port area in west Kolkata.

In consequence, the investment plan of ITC to expand the Kidderpore cigarette factory at a cost of Rs 300 crore may be delayed.

Read more at Business Standard