New Delhi: Consumer goods giant ITC Ltd on Thursday reported a 2 per cent rise in its March quarter net profit on the back of a surge in rural demand and steady growth in the mainstay cigarettes business.Its standalone net profit before tax and exception items of Rs 6,416.85 crore in January-March - fourth quarter of April 2024 to March 2025 financial year - compared to Rs 6,287.57 crore earnings a year back, according to a company statement and stock exchange filing.
These earnings are after taking into account the demerger of the hotel business. One-time gain from the demerger of ITC Hotels was Rs 15,179 crore.A recovery in rural demand backed by a good monsoon offset the impact of soft consumption in urban areas due to inflation.ITC's earnings from the cigarette business, which generates the highest revenue, was up 4 per cent at Rs 5,118 crore.
Revenue from its consumer goods segment, which houses popular household brands like Aashirvaad, Sunfeast and Bingo, rose 3.7 per cent to Rs 5,495 crore.The gross revenue in Q4 rose 9.2 per cent year-on-year to Rs 18,266 crore in Q4, while EBITDA was up 2.5 per cent at Rs 5,986 crore.For the full fiscal, ITC posted a profit of Rs 20,092 crore on a revenue of Rs 73,465 crore. This compared with Rs 19,910 crore profit on a revenue of Rs 66,657 crore.Full-year gross revenue climbed 10.2 per cent and EBITDA rose 2.3 per cent.The ITC board recommended a final dividend of Rs 7.85 per share.
Including the interim dividend of Rs 6.50 per share paid in March, the total dividend for the financial year ended March 31, 2025, amounts to Rs 14.35 per share (FY24: Rs 13.75 per share).For the 2024-25 fiscal, ITC saw revenue from the cigarette business rise 7 per cent while consumer goods were up 5 per cent.ITC said atta, spices, snacks, frozen snacks, dairy, premium personal wash, homecare and agarbatti drove growth.
Notebooks were impacted by heightened competition with opportunistic play by local/regional brands. Paperboards, paper and packaging segments remained impacted due to low-priced Chinese and Indonesian supplies, soft domestic demand conditions and unprecedented surge in wood prices.
Also, severe inflationary pressures were witnessed in prices of edible oil, wheat, maida, potato, cocoa, and packaging inputs, which was partially mitigated through focused cost management initiatives, portfolio premiumisation and calibrated pricing actions.On the cigarettes business, it said strategic portfolio and micro market interventions, with a focus on competitive belts and to counter illicit trade, drove volume-led growth and reinforced market standing.
Differentiated and premium offerings continued to perform well, leveraging mainstream trademarks and innovation, it said, adding that severe cost escalation in leaf tobacco was partially mitigated through product mix enrichment.
ITC said the hotel business posted its highest-ever revenue and operating profits on the back of strong growth in RevPar (Revenue Per Available Room) for the 9 months ended December 31, 2024. Profit before exceptional items and tax stood at Rs 573 crore (Rs 445 crore for the same period in the previous year; Rs 691 crore for FY24).
The hotel business was demerged in January.In line with the ITC Next Strategy of building a future-ready portfolio, accelerating growth and enhancing competitiveness, several value accretive acquisitions were announced during the year in the FMCG space - Sresta Natural Bioproducts (24 Mantra Organic Foods), Mother Sparsh Baby Care (Mother Sparsh) and Ample Foods (Prasuma & Meatigo).
"These interventions are expected to augment the company's presence and market standing in high-growth and future-facing businesses," it said.The company also entered into a Business Transfer Agreement to acquire the Pulp and Paper Undertaking of Aditya Birla Real Estate Limited (Century Pulp and Paper).The acquisition will immediately add significant scale and economies to existing operations with the potential for further capacity expansion, provide a locational advantage for efficient customer servicing and proximity to key raw material sources, mitigate operational risks through multi-site operations and enhance resilience across industry cycles through portfolio diversification
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