HYDERABAD: The Kolkata-headquartered diversified group ITC on Friday reported an 18 per cent increase in its net profit at Rs 2,278.01 crore for the quarter ended March, 2014 as against Rs 1,927.98 crore in the corresponding period a year ago.
Net sales too rose by 12 per cent at Rs 9,145.14 crore. The company’s operating margin stood at about 34 per cent. Net sales from the cigarette business rose 12.6 per cent YoY. While hospitality business registered 1.6 per cent growth at Rs 320.51 crore, sales of the company's hotel business grew by 5 per cent. Similarly, agri business’ profit rose by 14 per cent at Rs 145.48 crore during the quarter under review, while net sales stood at Rs 2,004.24 crore. Paperboards, Paper & Packaging business witnessed a profit of Rs 188.41 crore.
During the quarter, overall expenses stood at Rs 5,272.95 crore, down 8.4 per cent, compared to Rs 5,757.77 crore in the year-ago period.
“The company continued to deliver strong financial performance with healthy growth in revenues and high quality earnings. This performance is particularly commendable when viewed against the backdrop of the extremely challenging business context,” the company said in a statement.
Revenue from ITC’s non cigarettes FMCG grew by 13.66 per cent to Rs 2,314.51 crore, compared with Rs 2,036.20 crore in the same period last year.
During the 2013-14 fiscal, the company reported net profit of Rs 8,891.38 crore, up 16.86 per cent as against Rs 7,608.07 crore in the same period a year ago. Net sales for the year were Rs 34,984.70 crore, up 11.68 per cent, from Rs 31,323.45 crore in the previous fiscal.
The ITC scrip closed at Rs 342.15, down 0.77 per cent, on the BSE. (With agency inputs)