ITC trades flat despite 19% rise in Q4 profit

NEW DELHI: FMCG major ITC on Friday reported a 19.4 per cent rise in its consolidated net profit for the quarter ended March 31 at Rs 1,928 crore. ET Now had estimated a net profit figure of Rs 1904 cr.

At 02:00 p.m., shares of ITC were trading flat at Rs 335, down 0.6 per cent. IT hit a low of Rs 333.50 and a high of Rs 341.20 in trade today.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 1614 crore in the corresponding period last year, ITC said in a statement.

The sales during the fourth quarter went up by 19.2 per cent to Rs 8180 crore from Rs 6861 crore in the year-ago period, it added.

The consolidated net income during the fourth quarter went up by 19.11 per cent to Rs 8511.38 crore from Rs 7145.44 crore in the year-ago period.

In its meeting, the Board of Directors recommended a final dividend of Rs 5.25 per share on the face value of Re 1 each.

“ITC results were in line with expectations as revenues were driven by a 31 per cent increase in Agri sales and 26 per cent growth in FMCG sales,” IDFC said in a note.

“Increase of 420 bps EBIT margin in cigarettes division and turnaround in the FMCG division compensated for the poor profitability in other divisions,” said the note.

IDFC estimates 2 per cent volume growth in cigarettes due to the steep price hikes, which is in line with expectations.