Riding on the back of higher sales from its agri business and cigarettes divisions, FMCG major ITC Ltd posted 21 per cent rise in its second quarter net profit.

Profits rose to Rs 1,836 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2012, compared with Rs 1,514 crore during corresponding period last year.

Net sales grew 20 per cent to Rs 7,146 crore, compared with Rs 5,974 crore same period last year.

On a sequential basis, profits grew by 15 per cent from Rs 1,602 crore during the quarter ended June 30, 2012.

ITC shares were trading at Rs 296.85, up by 1.87 per cent from its previous close on the BSE on Friday.

Revenues from the cigarette business grew 14 per cent to Rs 3,385 crore, while that from the non-cigarette FMCG business increased 26 per cent to Rs 1,691 crore.

According to a company statement, the profits were driven by higher sales from branded packaged foods, agri-business and cigarettes divisions.

“The performance is particularly remarkable when viewed against the backdrop of the challenging business environment in which it was achieved, namely a slowdown in economic growth, sustained high inflation and impact of the steep hike in taxes on cigarettes during the year,” the release said.

Revenues from agri-business segment grew 41 per cent to Rs 2,024 crore. The company’s revenues from its hotels and paperboards and packaging divisions, however, remained muted, with the segments reporting 3 per cent and 5 per cent growth respectively.

During the quarter under review, ITC managed to trim down its losses from the non-cigarette FMCG business to Rs 30 crore against a loss of Rs 56 crore during same period last year.

>shobha.roy@thehindu.co.in

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