Kolkata, Jan 22 (Inditop.com) Cigarettes-to-hotels major ITC’s net profit of Rs.1,144.17 crore (Rs.11.44 billion/$248 million) for the quarter ended Dec 31 rose 27 percent from Rs.903.21 crore posted in the year-ago period, the company said Friday.
“Whilst the FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) and paperboard and packaging segments grew handsomely in net revenues led by growth in volumes, revenue growth in the agri-business was driven by both volume and improved realisations,” it said in a statement.
“While the performance of the hotels business has improved sequentially, it is still caught in the throes of a weak recovery momentum.”
The company said the country’s resilient growth enabled its hotels business to recover sizeably and witness “substantial improvement” in both occupancies and average room rates during the quarter.
Regarding the recent government directive to have graphic health warnings on tobacco product packets, the statement said: “Disparate imposition of graphic health warnings on tobacco products has provided a fillip to the growth of contraband trade which does not comply with the regulatory requirement of graphic warnings.”
According to ITC, “restrictive and asymmetric regulations encourage tobacco consumers to switch to cheaper forms of tobacco, adversely impacting the earnings of farmers who grow cigarette type tobacco.”
