ITC Q2 net profit up 37 pc to Rs 4,173 cr

ITC on Thursday reported a 37.06 per cent rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 4,173.72 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, driven mainly by paperboards, hotels and FMCG-others business.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 3,045.07 crore in July-September quarter a year ago, the FMCG major said in a regulatory filing.

Its net sales rose 6.16 per cent to Rs 12,759.44 crore during the quarter under review from Rs 12,018.61 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

"Gross revenue for the quarter stood at Rs 11,750.16 crore, representing a growth of 6 per cent, driven mainly by paperboards, hotels and FMCG-others (excluding the lifestyle retailing business)," ITC said in a statement.

Total expenses for the quarter under review rose 4 per cent to Rs 8,455.16 crore from Rs 8,129.19 crore a year ago.

Revenue from FMCG business grew 5.78 per cent to Rs 9,138.13 crore from Rs 8,638.60 crore in the September quarter a year ago.

The FMCG business comprises cigarettes and others segments.

Revenue from cigarettes stood at Rs 5,841.91 crore in July-September quarter, up 6.80 per cent from Rs 5,469.86 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal.

Revenue from FMCG-others segment rose 4.02 per cent to Rs 3,296.22 crore from Rs 3,168.74 crore in the year-ago period.

FMCG revenue grew "led by atta, potato chips and premium cream biscuits in the branded packaged foods businesses, liquids (handwash & bodywash) in the personal care products business and notebooks in the education & stationery products business," ITC said.

FMCG-others segment consists of branded packaged foods as staples, snacks, meals, dairy and beverages, confections, apparel, education and stationery products, personal care products, safety matches and incense sticks.

Revenue from hotel business grew 16.97 per cent to Rs 445.82 crore during the quarter under review from Rs 381.14 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal.

"The business recorded a healthy growth in segment revenue and segment EBITDA during the quarter driven by robust performance of recently commissioned hotels," the company said.

"Segment results include the impact of additional depreciation pertaining to new properties. Sluggish demand environment contributed to relatively muted performance of the other properties," it added.

Revenue from agri-business segment rose 18.95 per cent to Rs 2,673.59 crore from Rs 2,247.59 crore in the September quarter of the previous fiscal.

Agri-business segment revenue increased as "the business leveraged trading opportunities especially in oilseeds & pulses and scaled up value-added products," ITC said.

However, subdued demand for leaf tobacco in international markets, relatively steeper depreciation in currencies of competing origins and adverse business mix weighed on segment results, it added.

Paperboards, paper and packaging segment saw a 9.89 per cent growth in revenue at Rs 1,565.42 crore in July-September from Rs 1,424.46 crore in the year-ago period.

"The paperboards business recorded robust growth driven by strong volume growth in the value added paperboard segment and product mix enrichment," ITC said, adding it was partially offset by muted demand for packaging & printing products due to sluggish demand conditions in FMCG and liquor industry.

The segment, however, "registered a healthy growth driven by product mix enrichment, strategic investments in imported pulp substitution and benefits of a cost-competitive fibre chain", the company said.

Revenue from others segment, which includes information technology services, among others, grew 9.54 per cent to Rs 540.18 crore as against Rs 493.11 crore a year ago.

Shares of ITC on Thursday settled 0.82 per cent lower at Rs 248.95 apiece on the BSE.