ITC Q3 net up six pct at Rs. 2650 crore, cigarette sales grow two pct

FMCG major ITC on Friday announced its December quarter, which outshined estimates with net profit rising 5.7 percent to Rs. 2650 crore from Rs. 2504 crore in corresponding quarter last fiscal.

During the quarter, the company's total income grew marginally by five percent to Rs. 13570 crore compared to Rs. 12962 crore on annual basis.

The cigarette sales were up 2.2 percent at Rs. 8288 crore against Rs. 8106 crore year-on-year.

According to CNBC-TV18 poll, ITC was expected to report net profit at Rs 2564.2 crore while its total income was seen at Rs 9130.4 crore in year-ago period.

Earlier in Q3, the EBITDA of the company declined by 2.3 percent at Rs. 3521 crore versus Rs. 3605.2 crore while margins may stand at 38.6 percent versus 39.3 percent (year-on-year).

It company raised prices on 30 percent of cigarette portfolio by 14-15 percent in the second half of December.

However, the expectations are weak from FMCG and hotels business due to demonetisation and discretionary nature of products, which will be the key triggers for the Budget and GST.