VST Industries, a 91-year-old cigarette company formerly known as Vazir Sultan Tobacco Company, has reported a lower profit after tax (PAT) of ₹79.88 crore in the second quarter ended September 30 against ₹88.54 crore in the comparable quarter last year.

The firm registered a revenue of ₹360.86 crore in the second quarter against ₹394.88 crore in the comparable quarter last year.

The earning per share (EPS) stood at ₹51.7 for the quarter against the EPS of ₹57.34 recorded during the corresponding period a year ago. The EPS stood at ₹45.6 for the first quarter of this fiscal.

“On a sequential basis, the company reported a marginal decline of 2 per cent in its gross revenue to ₹360.8 crore in the second quarter. The operating performance got impacted due to a challenging situation after the outbreak of the second Covid wave and subsequent lockdowns in various States,” the company said in a statement.

“As situation continues to improve, and economic activities get normalised rapidly and lockdown restrictions are lifted significantly, the forthcoming business quarters are expected to see an improved operating performance,” it said.

“The strong sequential recovery indicates that the worst of the pandemic is behind us. Our mid-term growth plans look strong and we are confident that the result in the coming days will reflect the turnaround of the market post pandemic matched by our new launches and geographical expansion,” said Aditya Deb Gooptu, Managing Director of VST Industries Limited.

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