The profit figure came in lower than Rs 3,219 crore estimated by analysts in an ET NOW poll.
Revenue from operations for the quarter rose 36 per cent to Rs 12,959.15 crore compared with Rs 9,501.75 crore in the same quarter last year.
Margin for the quarter expanded to 32.7 per cent against 29.7 per cent in the year-ago quarter.
“Localised lockdowns and mobility restrictions imposed by states in a bid to contain the sharp increase in daily Covid‐19 infections in the second wave rendered the operating environment during the quarter extremely challenging and impacted the strong recovery momentum witnessed in recent quarters. The situation continues to improve with the progressive easing of restrictions and increased mobility from mid‐June,” ITC said.
ITC said the company continues to closely monitor the situation and will respond with agility to enhance its market standing while managing risks associated with the heightened uncertainties in the business environment. “Learnings in dealing with the pandemic spanning sales and distribution, supply chain operations, innovation and product development over the last few quarters will continue to be leveraged in this regard,” it said.
ITC said strong sequential recovery momentum in cigarettes had led to volumes reaching nearly pre‐Covid levels in March quarter, but the second wave caused disruptions in convenience store operations.
“Week on week improvement has been underway since mid June, with most markets returning to normalcy and witnessing faster recovery compared to the first wave. Certain markets of Kerala, Odisha and the North East still remain partially impacted,” it said.
Overall, the cigarette segment revenue grew 33 per cent YoY to Rs 5,122 crore. Argi business segment revenues were up 9 per cent YoY at Rs 4,091 crore.
Paperboard revenues came in at Rs 1,583 crore, up 54 per cent.
Shares of ITC ended 2.56 per cent higher at Rs 212.35 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
