ITC Q1 net profit up 20 pct, misses forecast

ITC-Q1-NET-PROFIT-UP-MISSES-FORECAST:ITC Q1 net profit up 20 pct, misses forecast

ITC Ltd , India's largest cigarette maker, lagged market forecasts with a 20 percent jump in quarterly net profit.

ITC, India's fifth most valuable company at about $35 billion, said on Thursday its net profit rose to 16.02 billion rupees for the fiscal first quarter ended June 30 from 13.3 billion rupees a year earlier.

Analysts had expected a 23 percent rise in earnings to 16.3 billion rupees, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.