ITC posts Q4 net profit of Rs 3,817 crore; revenue at Rs 15,404 crore

ITC Ltd on Tuesday reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 3,816.84 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2021.

The cigarette-FMCG-to-hotel major had posted a net profit of Rs 3,926.46 crore during the January-March quarter of the previous fiscal, ITC said in a regulatory filing.

Its revenue from operations was at Rs 15,404.37 crore during the quarter under review. It was Rs 12,560.64 crore in the corresponding period of 2019-20.

Meanwhile, ITC said its results for this quarter are not comparable with the earlier period as it also includes the revenue of Sunrise Foods, which it had acquired on July 27, 2020.

"The financial results of the group and 'FMCG Others' of the quarter and the financial year ended on March 31, 2021 include those of Sunrise from July 27, 2020 and consequently are not comparable with previous periods," it said.

ITC's total expenses were at Rs 10,944.64 crore in Q4 FY 2020-21.

During the quarter, revenue from the total FMCG business was Rs 10,203.23 crore. It was Rs 8,940.78 crore in the year-ago period. Revenue from its cigarettes business stood at Rs 6,508.43 crore in the January-March quarter. It was Rs 5,750.44 crore in the year-ago period.

ITC witnessed "continued recovery in Cigarettes Business with progressive easing of restrictions and improved mobility" and volumes touched nearly pre-COVID levels towards the close of the year, it said.

'FMCG-Others' segment revenue stood at Rs 3,694.80 crore in Q4/FY2020-21. It was Rs 3,190.34 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal.

The segment sustained strong growth momentum, it said, adding that there was "smart recovery in discretionary/'out-of-home' categories."

ITC's FMCG-others segment consists of branded packaged foods like staples, snacks, meals, dairy and beverages, confectionery, apparel, education and stationery products, personal care products, safety matches and incense sticks.

Staples and convenience foods witnessed normalisation in demand and hygiene segment remained "elevated" albeit settling at lower levels compared to H1, it said.

Continued closure of educational institutions impacted the performance of Education and Stationery Products Business(ESPB), ITC added.

Revenue from its hotels business was down 38.9 per cent at Rs 302.35 crore during the quarter under review. It was Rs 494.76 crore in Q4 FY2019-20.

According to ITC, there was "sequential improvement in hotels revenue aided by higher occupancy and F&B business."

Agri-Business revenue climbed 78.15 per cent at Rs 3,383 crore from Rs 1,899.01 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

"Agri Business posts robust growth in Q4," it said, adding, "Wheat, rice, oilseeds, exports of value-added food safe spices and higher supplies to support enhanced scale in Branded Packaged Foods Businesses drive growth."

Paperboards, paper and packaging vertical reported 13.51 per cent growth in revenue to Rs 1,655.91 crore. It was Rs 1,458.87 crore earlier.

This was led by strong volume recovery in paperboards, robust growth in carton packaging exports and flexibles packaging in domestic market.

"Paperboards, Paper & Packaging Segment continues its strong sequential recovery momentum with improvement in offtake across most end-user industries," it said.

Revenue from other segment was at Rs 641.51 crore in Q4 FY 2020-21.

For the full fiscal year 2020-21, ITC's net profit was at Rs 13,389.80 crore. It had posted a net profit of Rs 15,584.56 crore in FY2019-20.

Revenue from operations came in at Rs 53,155.12 crore. It was Rs 51,393.47 crore in FY 2019-20.

"The operating environment during the year was rendered extremely challenging by the outbreak of the pandemic, which caused unprecedented disruptions across the Company's operating segments," said ITC.

The company smartly addressed these dynamic challenges demonstrating agility and speed in adapting to the 'new normal' by resuming operations expeditiously and launching innovative products in record time to address emergent consumer needs, it noted.

"Relentless focus on cost reduction across Businesses aided in partially mitigating the impact of negative operating leverage," it said, adding while "sequential pick-up in all operating segments in the second half of the year mitigated the impact, the disruptions in the first half weighed on the overall performance for the year."

In a separate filing, ITC said its board has recommended a final dividend of Rs 5.75 per ordinary share of Re 1 each for the financial year ended March 31, 2021.

"The above Final Dividend is in addition to the Interim Dividend of Rs. 5.00 per share declared by the Board on February 11, 2021, and paid to the Members on March 10, 2021," it added.

Shares of ITC on Tuesday settled at Rs 215.20 on BSE, down 0.65 per cent from the previous close.