ITC adjusted PAT rises 6.5% in Q4, declares final dividend of Rs 5.75

The board has recommended a final dividend of Rs 5.75 per share; cigarette revenues rose 13.1% at Rs 6,508.43 crore

Cigarettes-to-hotels major ITC  on Tuesday reported a 22.64 per cent increase in consolidated revenue from operations for the quarter ended March, 2021, but clocked in a 2.7 per cent drop in profit after tax compared to the year-ago period, which included a lower tax cost.

The company, however, said that comparable Q4 PAT was up 6.5 per cent, after adjusting for one-time benefit in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Consolidated profit after tax stood at Rs 3,819.62 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2021. It was at Rs 3,926.72 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year and Rs 3,587.09 crore in the previous quarter.  

Consolidated revenue from operations was up by 22.64 per cent to Rs 15,404.37 crore during the quarter from Rs 12,560.64 crore in the year ago period, which reflected disruptions due to lockdown towards the end of March.  

Segment wise, revenues from cigarettes stood at Rs 6508.43 crore, up 13.18 per cent from Rs 5,750.44 crore in the year ago period and 6.8 per cent from Rs 6,091.17 in the previous quarter.

The company said that there was continued recovery in the cigarettes business with progressive easing of restrictions and improved mobility; volumes touched pre-Covid levels towards the close of the year, it said.

Non-cigarettes FMCG segment revenues stood at Rs 3,694.80 crore in the March quarter compared to Rs 3190.34 crore a year back, but down from Rs 3752.61 crore in the previous quarter.

Pre-tax profit from cigarettes business increased 6.7 per cent to Rs 3895.27 crore from Rs 3649.88 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year and 6.4 per cent quarter-on-quarter. Pre-tax profits from the non-cigarettes FMCG segment stood at Rs 182.91 crore during the quarter, up from 26.69 per cent year-on-year. However, it was down from Rs 243.17 crore in the previous quarter.

Segment revenues from hotels business was at Rs 302.35 crore, down from Rs 494.76 crore, but up from previous quarter’s Rs 248.87 crore. Pre-tax loss narrowed from Rs 72.25 crore to Rs 40.26 crore in the March quarter. In the corresponding quarter of the previous year, it had posted a profit of Rs 38.27 crore.

Agri business revenues increased increased to Rs 3383 crore from Rs 1899.01 crore in the same period last year and pre-tax profits stood at Rs 185.11 crore compared to Rs 127.05 crore in the corresponding period last year.

For the 12 months ended March 31, 2021, revenue from operations stood at Rs 53,155.12 crore, up by 3.4 per cent compared to Rs 51,393.47 crore in the previous year. Profit after tax was at Rs 13,382.88 crore, down by 14.16 per cent from the previous year.

The board has recommended a final dividend of Rs 5.75 per share. Including interim dividend of Rs 5 per share, total dividend for FY21 is Rs 10.75 per share.