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Conglomerate ITC on Thursday reported a 23.35 per cent year-on-year (YoY) jump in consolidated net profit in 2022-23 (FY23) January-March quarter (fourth quarter, or Q4) to Rs 5,175.48 crore, from Rs 4,195.69 crore in the same quarter last financial year (2021-22, or FY22), led by growth in cigarettes, FMCG (non-cigarette) and hotels business segments.
Consolidated revenue from operations in Q4FY23 was up 7.34 per cent at Rs 19,058.29 crore, beating Bloomberg consensus estimate of Rs 16,856 crore. The estimate for net income adjusted was Rs 4,819 crore. Sequentially, revenues were up 0.19 per cent and net profit 3.37 per cent.
For the full FY23, the company’s revenues at Rs 76,518.21 crore and net profit at Rs 19,191.66 crore were up by 17.35 per cent and 25.91 per cent, respectively.
ITC said that after two years of pandemic-led disruptions, FY23 marked a return to normalcy in operations. The company also said that the Indian economy remained a bright spot during the year in the midst of a global slowdown.
The ITC board has recommended a special dividend of Rs 2.75 per share, in addition to the final dividend of Rs 6.75 per share for the financial year ended March 31, 2023. With an interim dividend of Rs 6 per share, the total dividend for the financial year ended March 31, 2023, amounts to Rs 15.5 per share. The total cash outflow on account of dividends will be Rs 19,255.02 crore.
The ITC stock closed at Rs 419.65 on the BSE, down 1.87 per cent.
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The company also announced the appointment of Hemant Malik, divisional chief executive of foods business, as director and a whole-time director for three years, with effect from August 12.
The performance of the company, led by Chairman and Managing Director Sanjiv Puri, was backed by a focus on premiumisation, cost optimisation, and asset-right strategy in hotels. The cigarette segment recorded revenue of Rs 8,082.26 crore in Q4FY23, compared with Rs 7,177.01 crore in the same period last year, with the legal trade recovering from pandemic shock.
The stability in taxes also helped the legal cigarette industry claw back volumes lost to illicit trade. Pre-tax profits from the segment were at Rs 4,915.68 crore, compared with Rs 4,357.44 crore in the year-ago period.
The earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation margins for the non-cigarette fast-moving consumer goods expanded regardless of inflationary pressures, said ITC.
Pre-tax profit from the segment more than doubled to Rs 503.73 crore in Q4FY23, from Rs 238.47 crore in Q4FY22. Revenues from the segment were at Rs 4,951.17 crore, compared with Rs 4,148.62 crore a year back.
In FY23, the company launched over 90 products on the vectors of health and nutrition, hygiene, protection and care, convenience and on-the-go, and indulgence, among others.
The hospitality segment saw stellar recovery with revenues at Rs 808.72 crore in Q4FY23, nearly double from Rs 407.42 crore in Q4FY22. Pre-tax profits stood at Rs 204.9 crore, compared with a loss of Rs 29.08 crore in the year-ago period.
Revenues from the agribusiness at Rs 3,607.30 crore in Q4FY23 were down from 4,375.42 crore in the year-ago period. But pre-tax profits at Rs 304.55 crore were up from Rs 244.31 crore a year back.
Paperboard, paper, and packaging revenues at Rs 2,221.01 crore in Q4FY23 were up from Rs 2,182.77 crore; pre-tax profits were at Rs 444.98 crore, compared with Rs 449.69 crore a year back.
