ITC Ltd on Friday reported an 18.23 per cent drop in consolidated net profit to Rs 3,413.44 crore for the quarter ended September, 2020. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 4,174.69 crore during the July-September quarter of the previous fiscal.
A Bloomberg poll of 15 analysts had predicted quarterly profit at Rs 3,236.70 crore.
“The operating environment remained extremely challenging during the quarter with the unabated increase in daily covid cases prompting several states to impose localized lockdowns. This impacted the recovery momentum, particularly in the months of July and August, and posed significant challenges to sales operations. The situation continues to improve with the progressive easing of restrictions from September’20,” the company said.
ITC’s revenue from operations was up 2.17 per cent to Rs 13,147.81 crore in the second quarter of the current fiscal. In the year-ago period, the same was at Rs 12,867.39 crore.
The company’s total expenses stood at Rs 9,164.68 crore in the latest September quarter, an increase of 8.39 per cent compared to Rs 8,455.16 crore in the same period a year ago.