ITC Q4 consolidated net profit falls 3%, declares final dividend of Rs 5.75

Cigarette-to-hotel conglomerate ITC on Tuesday reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 3,755 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 (Q4FY21), down 3 per cent from Rs 3,856 crore clocked in the corresponding quarter a year earlier (Q4FY20).

The FMCG major's consolidated revenue from operations rose to Rs 15,404 crore during the quarter from Rs 12,560 crore in the year-ago period, an increase of 22.6 about  per cent.

Sequentially, the profit after tax (PAT) jumped 6.4 per cent. It was Rs 3,526 crore during the December quarter (Q3FY21).

The board has recommended a final dividend of Rs 5.75 per share for the financial year 2020-21.

Segment wise, revenue from cigarette business grew 13 per cent to Rs 6,508 crore from Rs 5,750 crore a year ago, while the earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) or pre-tax profit for the same rose 6.7 per cent to Rs 3,895 crore during the quarter from Rs 3,649 crore in the year-ago period.

The FMCG-others business recorded a strong peformance with  revenue rising about 15 per cent to Rs 3,694 crore in the March quarter from Rs 3,190 crore in the same period a year-earlier and the pre-tax profit came in at Rs 182 crore.

Revenue from hotels business has seen a 38 per cent drop to Rs 302 crore in the March quarter from Rs 495 crore in the year-ago period. During the quarter, it has also seen a loss of Rs 40 crore versus a profit of Rs 38 crore in the year-ago period.

Meanwhile, the Agri business' revenue stood at Rs 3,383 crore during the quarter, an increase of massive 78 per cent from the March 2020 quarter.

At the operating level, its EBITDA came in at Rs 4,871 crore and the margins declined on a sequential basis to 31.62 per cent from 33.87 per cent in the December quarter.

ITC said there is continued recovery in cigarettes business with progressive easing of restrictions and improved mobility. "Volumes touched nearly pre-Covid levels towards the close of the year." 

"Sequential improvement in Hotels revenue aided by higher Occupancy and F&B business. After breaking even in Q3, Segment EBITDA improves further to Rs 25 crore in Q4; structural cost management interventions and revenue augmentation measures help in mitigating the impact of negative operating leverage," it said in a filing.

Ahead of the results, ITC's scrip traded flat to settle at Rs 215.9 on NSE. The stock gained 3.6 per cent in 2021.