ITC’s Net Turnover at Rs.2888 crores posted a strong growth of 32.3% driven by the non-cigarette businesses which grew by 53% during the quarter and now account for 51.2% of the Company’s Net Turnover. The key growth drivers were the continued ramp up of the Foods business, higher Agribusiness revenues and a strong performance by the Hotels business.

The Company’s post-tax profit for the quarter ended 30th September 2006 at Rs. 679.60 crores recorded a 18.7% growth while pre-tax profit at Rs. 957.76 crores grew by 17.5%. Earnings Per Share for the quarter stood at Rs.1.81.

FMCG

Branded Packaged Foods

The Company’s Branded Packaged Foods business continued to expand rapidly with sales growing 54% over last year.

The ‘Sunfeast’ range of biscuits stood further expanded with the introduction of ‘Sunfeast Special’ in the fast growing mid-price cookies segment. The quarter also saw the extension of ‘Sweet ‘n Salt Crackers’ to target markets. Product mix witnessed continued improvement on the back of enhanced sales of value added products like Creams, Cookies etc. The business continued to make good progress in establishing its own production facilities at Bangalore and Uttaranchal apart from tying up additional outsourced manufacturing capacity. These facilities, once commissioned, are expected to facilitate servicing of proximal markets in an efficient and cost-effective manner. The brand’s celebrity association with Shah Rukh Khan and its partnering with the landmark ‘Sunfeast Open 2006’ WTA Tennis tournament in Kolkata is beginning to yield significant value addition by reinforcing the brand’s 'energetic, cheerful & spirited' attributes and reiterating its 'spread the smile' positioning.

In the Staples category, ‘Aashirvaad Atta’ continued to grow from strength to strength. The brand now commands an impressive 52% market share amongst national branded players.

Confectionery sales also recorded strong growth during the quarter driven by Candyman - ‘Eclairs’ and ‘Cofitino’ in the toffee segment and the extension of  ‘Mango Natkhat’ (a hard-boiled candy) to target markets. The range of ‘Aashirvaad Instant Mixes’ introduced recently continued to garner increasing consumer franchise.

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