ITC Q1FY14 PAT seen up 18% at Rs 1894 crore

MUMBAI: ITC, the conglomerate with a presence in cigarettes, consumer goods and hotels will be announcing its quarterly results today. The company is likely to report a standalone net profit of Rs 1,894 crore, up 18 per cent, from Rs 1,602 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal, says ET Now poll.

Net sales for the period are seen at Rs 7,862 crore, up 18 per cent, as against Rs 6,652 crore in year-ago period.

EBIDTA is seen up 17 per cent at Rs 2,776 crore from Rs 2,368 crore in the same period last fiscal. EBIDTA margins for the quarter are seen at 35.3 per cent Vs 35.6 per cent.

The company’s cigarette business is likely to see a volume de-growth of 1.5 per cent due price hike. The cigarette prices have shot up 18-20 per cent Year-on-Year to pass on excise duty burden. Analysts are expecting Expect EBIT margin expansion of 40-50 bps.

Profit from FMCG business is expected to improve. The business turned EBIT positive in Q4FY13 after posting a profit of Rs 11.8 crore. Reveneus are likely to grow by 22 per cent.

No surprises are expected from Hotels & Paper and Paper Boards segments due to weak industry environment. The company’s hotel business has been a drag for last couple of quarters.

ITC’s agri business has improving from last 2 quarters. It is likely to benefit from tobacco exports.

Factors to watch out for:

-Cigarette volume growth post price hikes

-Update on 64mm segment

-Demand outlook for FMCG and other segments

-Update on Hotels biz

ITC has been on a firm foot since its fourth quarter results and has gained over 13 per cent.

At 10:20 a.m.; the stock was at Rs 371.85, down 1.10 per cent, on the BSE. It touched a high of Rs 378.90 and a low of Rs 350.20 in trade today.