ITC Q4 Net Profit Rises 11.60% To Rs 4,259.68 Crore

ITC Ltd on Wednesday reported an 11.60 per cent rise in its consolidated net profit to Rs 4,259.68 crore for the fourth quarter ended in March 2022 driven by all-round growth across verticals.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 3,816.84 crore during the January-March quarter of the previous fiscal, ITC said in a regulatory filing.

Consolidated revenue from operations was up 15.25 per cent to Rs 17,754.02 crore during the quarter under review compared to Rs 15,404.37 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

ITC's total expenses were at Rs 12,632.29 crore, up 15.41 per cent in Q4/FY 2021-22, as against Rs 10,944.64 crore in the year-ago period.

During the quarter, the cigarette segment clocked revenue of Rs 7,177.01 crore, up from Rs 6,508.43 crore in the year-ago period.

There was "robust broad-based recovery in cigarettes despite disruptions due to the third wave and volumes surpassed pre-pandemic levels", it said.

The FMCG segment, excluding cigarettes, had a revenue of Rs 4,148.62 crore as compared to Rs 3,694.8 crore in the corresponding period a year ago.

Agri business registered revenue of Rs 4,375.42 crore as against Rs 3,383 crore in Q4 FY21, the company said.

The sharp growth in the segment revenue was driven by wheat, rice, leaf tobacco exports while leveraging strong customer relationships, investments in sustainable value chains, robust sourcing network and agile execution, the company said.

Paperboards, paper and packaging revenue stood at Rs 2,182.77 crore in the fourth quarter as against Rs 1,655.91 crore in the same period last year, the company said adding re-opening of educational institutions aided recovery but it was still below pre-pandemic levels.

ITC said its hotels business clocked revenue of Rs 407.42 crore in the fourth quarter as compared to Rs 302.35 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.

"Hotels witnessed smart recovery in spite of the third wave impacting recovery momentum in January-February 2022," it said.

For the fiscal ended March 31, 2022, ITC said its consolidated net profit was at Rs 15,485.65 crore as compared to Rs 13,389.8 crore in 2020-21.

Consolidated revenue from operations for FY22 was at Rs 65,204.96 crore as compared to Rs 53,155.12 crore in FY21.

"The operating environment during the year remained extremely challenging and was marked by heightened uncertainty and volatility due to the Covid-19 pandemic and unprecedented inflationary headwinds; geopolitical tensions towards the end of the year exacerbated the situation," ITC said.

In spite of significant disruptions during the year, the company said its "consumer-centricity, agility in seizing market opportunities, focus on execution excellence harnessing learnings from previous waves and proactive strategic interventions enabled it to post robust growth in revenues and profits, surpassing pre-pandemic levels."

ITC said its board of directors has recommended a final dividend of Rs 6.25 per ordinary share of Re 1 each for FY22. Together with the interim dividend of Rs 5.25 per share paid on March 4, 2022, the total dividend for the financial year ended 2021-22 amounts to Rs 11.50 per share.

Total cash outflow on account of dividends will be Rs 14,171.51 crore, it added.

Shares of ITC Ltd on Wednesday settled at Rs 266.50 on BSE, up 0.72 per cent from the previous close.