ITC Q4 profit beats Street estimates; key takeaways

FMCG major ITC on Monday posted better-than-expected financial results for the quarter ended March 31. The company reported 18.73 per cent year-on-year (YoY) rise in profit at Rs 3,481.90 crore compared with Rs 2,932.71 crore net in the same quarter last year.

Analysts in an ET NOW poll had projected a profit of Rs 3,201 crore.

Here are the top takeaways from ITC’s fourth quarter earnings:


Dividend: The board recommended a dividend of Rs 5.75 per equity share for the financial year ended March 31. The dividend, if declared, will be paid on July 16.

New appointment: The company announced elevation of its managing director Sanjiv Puri as Chairman and Managing Director. Puri’s elevation comes after erstwhile ITC Chairman Y C Deveshwar passed away on Saturday morning after a brief illness. Deveshwar (72) had stepped down from executive role in 2017 but remained as a chairman in non-executive capacity.

Total income: The figure jumped 14.26 per cent to Rs 12,946.21 crore in over Rs 11,329.74 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

Total FMCG revenue: Revenue from total FMCG business, including cigarettes, increased around 10 per cent YoY to Rs 8,759.84 crore in January-March 2019 against Rs 7,988.29 crore in the same period last year. Revenue from cigarettes increased to Rs 5,485.92 crore from Rs 4,936.45 during the same period.

Non-FMCG business: Revenue from hotels, agri business and paperboards, paper and packaging increased to Rs 4,148.05 crore compared to Rs 3,517.1 crore in the same period last year.

EBITDA: The figure increased to Rs 4572 crore in Q4FY19 over Rs 4144 crore in the same period last year. Margins, however, declined to 31.80 per cent in Q4FY19 from 39.10 per cent in Q4FY18.