ITC Ltd. closed the third quarter with a profit of ₹3,209.1 crore against ₹3,090.2 crore in the year ago quarter (including one-time income of ₹270 crore), aided by good performance in the FMCG, agri-business and paper segments.

Gross revenue rose by 15.1% during this period to touch ₹11,340.2 crore, driven mainly by FMCG Others, agri-business, and the paperboards, paper and packaging business. Cigarette business was, however, impacted by rise in costs.

The 20.5% growth in the paper segment revenue came on the back of strong demand and capacity augmentation in value-added and decor segments.

The bottomline was boosted by improved product mix, higher realisation and investments in imported pulp substitution, ITC said in a statement. The hotels segment saw healthy growth in revenue through improved room realisations.

Shares fall

ITC was the biggest loser among the Sensex stocks on Wednesday, shedding 4.16% or ₹12.05 to close at ₹277.70.

“While the overall numbers were not bad, the fall in the margins in the cigarette segment led to concerns and the impact on the stock was visible,” said Abhimanyu Sofat, head research, IIFL Securities. “The cigarette segment grew in terms of volumes but the contraction in margin is worrisome as cigarettes account for the largest chunk of revenues of the company,” he added.

On Wednesday, a total of 18.55 lakh shares of ITC were traded on BSE — much higher than the two-week average of 6.08 lakh shares.