ITC Q1 profit up 30.24% at Rs 3,343.44 cr, revenue rises 35.9% as segments rebound
ITC Ltd has reported a 30.24 per cent jump in its consolidated net profit to Rs 3,343.44 crore for the first quarter ended June 2021 lead by a “strong rebound” in operating segments. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 2,567.07 crore during the April-June quarter of the previous fiscal, ITC said in a regulatory filing. Its revenue from operations was up 35.91 per cent to Rs 14,240.76 crore during the quarter under review, as against Rs 10,478.46 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.
The company has a “strong rebound across operating segments despite operational constraints in the wake of the second wave,” said ITC in a post earning statement.
Total expenses were at Rs 10,220.49 crore, up 28.27 per cent in Q1/FY 2021-22, as against Rs 7,967.71 core of the corresponding period.
According to ITC, localised lockdowns and mobility restrictions imposed by states in a bid to contain the coronavirus infections in the second wave rendered the operating environment extremely challenging and impacted the strong recovery momentum witnessed in recent quarters.
“The situation continues to improve with the progressive easing of restrictions and increased mobility from mid-June’21,” it said.
It continues to “closely monitor” the situation and will respond with agility to enhance its market standing while managing risks associated with the heightened uncertainties in the business environment, said ITC.
“Learnings in dealing with the pandemic spanning sales and distribution, supply chain operations, innovation and product development, over the last few quarters, will continue to be leveraged in this regard,” it said.
During the April-June quarter, revenue from total FMCG business was Rs 9,534.07 crore, up 23.68 per cent, as against Rs 7,708.89 crore in the year-ago period.
ITC’s revenue from its cigarettes business in Q1/FY2021-22 was up 34.01 per cent to Rs 5,802.67 crore as against Rs 4,330.05 crore in the year-ago period.
According to ITC, it had a “strong sequential recovery momentum in Cigarettes led to volumes reaching nearly pre-Covid levels in Q4 FY21” though the second wave caused disruptions in convenience store operations during the quarter.
FMCG Others – segment revenue stood at Rs 3,731.40 crore, up 10.43 per cent, as against Rs 3,378.84 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal, it added.
ITC’s FMCG-others segment of ITC consists of branded packaged foods as staples, snacks, meals, dairy and beverages, confections, apparel, education and stationery products, personal care products, safety matches and incense sticks.
“The FMCG Businesses responded with speed and agility demonstrating resilience and adaptive capacity while operating in the ‘new normal’,” said ITC.
Sales of ”discretionary/‘out-of-home’ consumption products witnessed strong growth on a favourable base.
“Unlike in the first wave where there was a significant surge in demand for Staples and Convenience Foods, the current quarter witnessed a relatively mild uptick in these categories,” it said.
Moreover, sales in the e-Commerce channel more than doubled over the same period last year taking its salience to 8 per cent of FMCG Others segment Revenue during the quarter.
“The Businesses remained proactively engaged with e-Commerce platforms with account specific strategies, SKU assortment and aligned supply chains to service emergent demand in an efficient manner,” it said.
Revenue from its hotels business was up over five folds to Rs 133.67 crore during the quarter under review. It was Rs 24.92 crore in Q1/FY 2020-21.
“The second wave of the pandemic triggered a fresh round of mobility and travel restrictions leading to severe disruptions, impacting the progressive recovery witnessed in H2 of FY21,” said ITC adding “with the reduction in new Covid infections and easing of travel restrictions in June’21, domestic leisure segment witnessed an uptick.”
Its Agri-Business was up 9.17 per cent at Rs 4,109.82 crore during the April-June quarter. It was 3,764.56 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago.
The company witnessed “strong growth in wheat, rice & leaf tobacco exports and soya in the domestic market”.
Paperboards, paper and packaging verticals reported an increase of 54.19 per cent growth in revenue to Rs 1,582.65 crore. It was Rs 1,026.44 crore in the same period last year, ITC said.
It has a “robust performance” and has margin expansion driven by higher realisations, richer mix and operational efficiencies.
“In the Paperboards and Specialty Papers Business, domestic customer offtake saw positive trends in most key segments such as pharma and consumer goods. However, certain end-user segments such as publications, cupstock, On-the-Go liquid packaging and wedding cards continued to be impacted by the pandemic-related disruptions,” said ITC.
Revenue from “others” segments was at Rs 680.26 crore, up 22.2 per cent in Q1/FY2021-22 as against Rs 556.68 crore of the corresponding period.
