Marlboro India seller Godfrey Phillips posts 8% pre-tax profit drop; shares fall

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Cigarette maker Godfrey Phillips India on Friday reported its first drop in quarterly pre-tax profit in two years, weighed by a sharp rise in expenses.

Shares of the company slid 9.2% after the results in their biggest intraday drop since December.

The company, which manufactures and distributes Marlboro cigarettes under a license agreement with Philip Morris International, said profit before tax in the second quarter fell 8.2% to 2.19 billion rupees, as expenses surged nearly 20%.

Total revenue from operations rose 15.4% to 13.75 billion rupees, with revenue from its profitable division which sells cigarettes, tobacco and related products climbing 16.6%.

Revenue from its round-the-clock convenience store, 24Seven, and confectionary sales grew 4.3% to 1.17 billion rupees, but recorded a pre-tax loss of 158.9 million rupees.

Shares of the company had risen nearly 30% in the quarter, a opposed to a 1.6% fall in rival ITC, which also makes consumer goods.

($1 = 83.2400 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Chris Thomas in Bengaluru)