For the three month period ended March 2010, ITC Ltd has recorded a surge of 27.1 percent in its net profit after tax (PAT), which stood at Rs 1,028.22 crore as against Rs 808.99 crore for the quarter ended March 2009.

The total income of cigarettes-to-hotels major for the said quarter came up to Rs 5,190.81 crore as compared to Rs 4038.17 crore for the same period of last year.

According to company's statement, "The board recommends a total dividend of Rs. 10 per share for 2009-10 including a special centenary dividend of Rs. 5.50 per share."

Moreover, ITC Ltd has launched its premium line of hand-rolled cigarettes in markets under the brand name 'Armenteros'.

The company, which registered hefty growth in branded packaged food business, said that its business was adversely impacted by historically high rates of input commodities like wheat, flour, dairy inputs and sugar during the year.

"The impact of input cost increases was largely contained through a combination of smart sourcing and increased internal efficiencies, minimising the 'cost-push' impact for consumers," it added.

On the personal care products, ITC stated that the rising products demand had been met by additional capacity at its facility at Haridwar in Uttarakhand.

The company is also commissioning a new facility at Manpura in Himachal Pradesh.

The company's statement also said, "Agri business revenues remained flat during the year due to rationalization of the agri-commodity portfolio necessitated by the increasing policy interventions and volatility in the commodity markets."

Though these challenging circumstances impacted volume, the business posted impressive growth in margins with profits growing by 70 percent over the previous year, it added. (With Inputs from Agencies)