ITC has posted an 11.4 per cent decline in profit after tax in the third quarter at Rs 3,587.09 crore, down from Rs 4,050.4 crore recorded in the same period last year. Total income, however, went up 5.1 per cent to Rs 14,670.17 crore from Rs 13,960.5 crore.

The company declared an interim dividend of Rs 5 per share of face value Re 1. Sequentially, however, ITC did better in terms of profit and income. Profits were up by 5.1 per cent, while total income was up 6.8 per cent.

Cigarette, the mainstay of the company’s business, showed higher revenues both sequentially and year-on-year basis. However, the profit before tax was down year-on-year to Rs 3,658.65 crore but was up on a quarter-on-quarter basis.

The non-cigarette FMCG business recorded a revenue and PBT growth year-on-year but they were down quarter-on-quarter.

Losses from the hotels business, which were severely affected by the pandemic, came down sequentially.