Pursuits
Modi's Anti-Tobacco Campaign Hits ITC Earnings, Cigarette Sales
- Indian cigarette giant's profit misses estimates on curbs
- Taxes on tobacco likely to increase in Modi's FY17 budget
A smoker in Mumbai.
Photographer: Punit Paranjpe/AFP via Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
ITC Ltd., Asia’s second-largest publicly traded tobacco company, reported earnings that fell short of analyst estimates as the Indian government’s campaign against smoking dented cigarette sales.
Net income in the quarter through December remained little changed at 26.5 billion rupees ($392 million) from a year ago, the Kolkata-based consumer-goods company said Friday. That compares with the 27.6 billion-rupee average of analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Revenue rose 3.4 percent to 91 billion rupees, missing the estimate of 94.5 billion rupees.