ITC sees broad-based growth, net profit rises 34% to Rs 4,389 crore

Cigarettes-to-hotels major ITC on Monday reported a 33.98 per cent year-on-year (YoY) jump in its consolidated net profit, which came in at Rs 4,389.76 crore, amid growth across segments. In the year-ago period, profit was Rs 3,276.48 crore.

Net sales came in at Rs 18,353 crore, up 39.2 per cent YoY and well ahead of expectations. A poll of analysts by Bloomberg had estimated its revenue at Rs 11,760 crore and net income at Rs 3,974 crore.

The company attributed the performance to a “robust” performance across segments. Sequentially, too, net profit and revenue were up. Net sales in the previous quarter stood at Rs 16,371 crore and net profit at Rs 4,195.69 crore.

The company said while the trajectory of inflation remains a key monitorable, prospects of a favourable monsoon and recent moderation in prices of key commodities, along with proactive interventions by the government and the RBI, augur well for a sustained economic recovery and pick-up in consumption expenditure.

The performance of ITC in the June quarter reflected normalisation of business activity across segments.

While stability in taxes on cigarettes enabled volume recovery from illicit trade, the hotels segment clocked in the highest-ever quarterly profit in 14 years. The paperboards, paper & packaging segment, too, posted record quarterly revenue and profit. The agri and FMCG segments recorded their highest quarterly revenues.

Revenue from cigarettes stood at Rs 7,464.10 against Rs 5,802.67 crore in the year-ago period. Pre-tax profit from the segment came in at Rs 4,469.76 crore, against Rs 3,461.91 crore a year back.

Revenue from the non-cigarette FMCG segment stood at Rs 4,458.71 crore in Q1FY23, against Rs 3,731.40 crore in the year-ago period. Pre-tax profit from the segment was at Rs 206.87 crore; it was Rs 174.28 crore a year ago. Sequentially, profit came in lower.

ITC said that sharp escalation in input costs was mitigated through multi-pronged interventions, such as strategic cost management, premiumisation, supply chain agility, judicious pricing actions, fiscal incentives, leveraging digital, optimising channel assortments, and a favourable business mix.

The company’s paperboards segment saw a jump in revenue and profit, with strong demand kicking in from across end-user segments. Revenue from the segment stood at Rs 2,267.22 crore in Q1FY23, against Rs 1,582.65 crore in the year-ago period. Pre-tax profit stood at Rs 612.98 crore; it was Rs 392.83 crore a year ago.

Also, the hotels segment’s sales witnessed a sharp rebound -- Rs 580.71 crore in the June 2022 quarter, against Rs 133.67 crore a year ago. ARR and occupancy was ahead of pre-pandemic levels, driven by the retail (packages), leisure, weddings, and MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions), ITC said. Pre-tax profit came in at Rs 116.31 crore, against a loss of 159.61 crore a year ago. In the previous quarter, too, the segment had posted a loss.

Agribusiness revenue was boosted by wheat, rice and leaf tobacco exports. Segment revenue during the quarter was Rs 7,492.14 crore, up from Rs 4,109.82 crore a year ago. Pre-tax profit stood at Rs 283.17 crore, against Rs 195.04 crore a year ago.