ITC Q3 net profit rises 6.5% to Rs 5,400.52 crore; revenue up 2.43%

New Delhi: Diversified entity ITC Ltd on Monday reported a 6.51 per cent rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 5,400.51 crore for the December 2023 quarter due to a resilient performance by the FMCG vertical.

The company had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 5,070.09 crore in the October-December period a year ago, ITC said in a regulatory filing.

Its gross revenue from sales rose 2.3 per cent to Rs 19,337.84 crore during the quarter under review. It was Rs 18,901.76 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

ITC's revenue from operations in the December quarter was Rs 19,484.50 crore, up 2.43 per cent. It was Rs 19,020.65 crore a year ago.

"Amidst a challenging macro-economic and operating environment, as stated above, and high base effect in some of its operating segments, the company delivered a resilient performance during the quarter," said ITC in an earning statement.

The total expenses of the Kolkata-headquartered firm increased 5.33 per cent to Rs 13,453.73 crore.

During the quarter, ITC revenue from the 'total FMCG' segment, which also includes the cigarettes business, rose 4.47 per cent to Rs 13,513.43 crore. It was Rs 12,934.67 crore in Q3 FY23.

Its revenue from the cigarette business inched up 2.59 per cent at Rs 8,295.18 crore in the October-December quarter. It was Rs 8,085.72 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal.

Its differentiated variants and premium segment continue to perform well during the quarter.

"The cigarettes business witnessed consolidation on a high base after a period of sustained growth momentum," said ITC.

ITC's revenue from the FMCG-others segment was also up 7.61 per cent at Rs 5,218.25 crore in Q3 FY24 against Rs 4,848.95 crore in the year-ago period.

"The FMCG Businesses delivered resilient performance amidst a slowdown in consumer demand; staples, dairy, beverages, fragrances, personal wash, homecare, agarbattis, classmate notebooks and pens drive growth," it said.

Competitive intensity remained high in certain categories such as biscuits, snacks, noodles, and popular soaps, including from local and regional players.

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

The revenue from ITC's Hotels segment surged 18 per cent to Rs 872.46 crore.

It witnessed strong growth in ARRs (average room rents) and occupancies across properties driven by (packages), MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) segments and marquee events like the ICC Cricket World Cup, it added.

"Segment EBITDA margin expanded by 470 bps year-on-year to 36.2 per cent driven mainly by higher RevPAR (revenue per available room) operating leverage and strategic cost management initiatives," it noted.

ITC's agribusiness was marginally down to Rs 3,273.23 crore in the December quarter of FY24 as it was impacted by restrictions on wheat and rice exports. It was Rs 3,305.21 crore in the year-ago quarter.

"The operating environment remained challenging due to various policy interventions of the Government of India to ensure food security and control inflation which limited business opportunities for the agribusiness," it said.

ITC's revenue from the 'paperboards, paper and packaging' segment fell 9.74 per cent to Rs 2,080.91 crore on account of a subdued consumer demand and a relatively muted festive season.

The export markets in the segment remain impacted by low-priced Chinese supplies.

"Margins were impacted largely by a sharp drop in realisations and unprecedented surge in domestic wood costs due to increased demand from competing industries," it said.

Revenue from other segments, including its information technology services, branded residences etc, rose 10.86 per cent to Rs 950.04 crore against Rs 856.91 crore in Q3 FY22.

Meanwhile, in a separate filing, ITC informed that its board in a meeting held on Monday declared an interim dividend of Rs 6.25 per ordinary share of Re 1 each for the financial year ending on March 31, 2024.

The board also recommended the approval of the appointment of Atul Singh as a Non-Executive Director and Pushpa Subrahmanyam as an Independent Director, both for a period of five years with effect from April 2, 2024.

Shares of ITC on Monday settled at Rs 450 apiece on the BSE, down 1.20 per cent from the previous close.