ITC Q4 net profit rises 18.72% to Rs 3,482 crore

Diversified group ITC Ltd Monday reported an 18.72 per cent increase in standalone net profit at Rs 3,482 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, riding on strong performance from its paperboards, paper and packaging, hotels and FMCG businesses.

The company, which stated that cigarettes segment continued to be under pressure due to high taxation, had posted standalone net profit of Rs 2,932.71 crore in the January-March period a year ago.

The Kolkata-based firm said its total income during the quarter under review rose 14.26 per cent to Rs 12,946.21 crore, compared to Rs 11,329.74 crore in the same period last fiscal.

During the quarter, the company said there was robust growth in gross revenue driven by trading opportunities in oilseeds, wheat and coffee in agri business, higher volumes and improved realisation in paperboards and improvement in room revenue in hotels.

Besides, enhanced scale and product mix enrichment helped FMCG-Others (non-cigarette) grow EBIDTA by 31 per cent to Rs 228 crore, it said.

Revenue from total FMCG business, including cigarettes, stood at Rs 8,759.84 crore in January-March 2019, as against Rs 7,988.29 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

During the quarter, revenue from cigarettes was Rs 5,485.92 crore. It was Rs 4,936.45 crore in the fourth quarter of 2017-18.

Revenue from FMCG-Others segment was Rs 3,273.92 crore in January-March quarter, as against Rs 3,051.82 crore in the year-ago period.

During the quarter, ITC's revenue from non-FMCG business, which includes hotels, agri-business, paperboards, paper and packaging, was Rs 4,148.05 crore compared to Rs 3,517.1 crore in the same period of the preceding fiscal.

The board of the company also recommended a dividend of Rs 5.75 per share for the fiscal ended March 31, 2019.

For the fiscal ended March 31, consolidated profit was at Rs 12,824.20 crore as against Rs 11,485.10 crore in the previous year.

For FY19, ITC said its total income was at Rs 52,035.90 crore as against Rs 49,520.41 crore in the previous year.