Mumbai, July 25: ITC Ltd, the country's largest tobacco company, said on Friday its quarterly net profit jumped 15.5 per cent, buoyed by higher cigarette prices and cost cutting. The company, which sells around two out of every three cigarettes in India with brands like Gold Flake and Scissors Plain, reported a net profit of Rs 397 crore in the first fiscal quarter ended June 30.

ITC, which is 31.7 per cent owned by British American Tobacco Plc , has diversified into hotels, agri-exports, packaged goods, greeting cards and information technology but cigarettes still make up more than 70 per cent of its turnover.

Shares in the Calcutta-based company, which has the fifth-highest weight in the benchmark Bombay index, has risen 13 per cent in 2003, beating the marker's 8.6 per cent rise. Bureau Report