Cigarette-to-soap maker ITC Ltd on Thursday declared a nearly four-fold jump in its standalone net profit to ₹19,561.57 crore for the fourth quarter last fiscal, due to a one time exceptional gain of ₹15,179.43 crore of discontinued operations.
The diversified conglomerate had posted a net profit of ₹5,020.20 crore in the fourth quarter of FY24.
During the fourth quarter last fiscal, net profit from the company’s continuing operations (excluding exceptional gains related to demerger of its Hotels business) stood at ₹4,874.71 crore, which was marginally up by 0.77 per cent year-on-year.
During the period under review, the company revenue from operations grew over 9 per cent y-o-y at ₹18,494.06 crore from ₹16,907.18 crore for the year-ago period, backed by growth in cigarette and agri businesses.
Notably, the Hotels business of ITC Ltd was demerged into ITC Hotels Ltd with effect from January 1, 2025. The equity shares of the hospitality major were listed on the NSE and BSE on January 29.
On Thursday, ITC Ltd, in a statement, said its performance in Q4FY25 was “resilient” amidst a subdued demand environment and sharp escalation in input costs.
During the fourth quarter last fiscal, revenue from the company’s cigarette business rose 5.99 per cent y-o-y to ₹8,399.61 crore, while operating profit from the segment increased by 3.95 per cent y-o-y to ₹5,117.86 crore during the period, according to the stock exchange filing.
During the quarter under review, non-cigarette FMCG business registered a 3.67 per cent y-o-y growth in its revenue to ₹5,494.63 crore, while the segment posted a 27.73 per cent y-o-y degrowth in operating profit at ₹344.89 crore during this period. “Severe inflationary pressures witnessed in prices of edible oil, wheat, maida, potato, cocoa, packaging inputs etc.; partially mitigated through focused cost management initiatives, portfolio premiumisation and calibrated pricing actions,” the company said.
In Q4FY25, the company agri business witnessed a 17.69 per cent y-o-y growth in its revenue to ₹3,649.16 crore, whereas the segment posted a 25.92 per cent y-o-y rise in its operating profit to ₹255.06 crore. “Strong customer relationships and agile execution continue to drive growth in Leaf Tobacco & Value Added Agri exports (Coffee, Spices, etc.) Post extensive product development and customer trials, shipments from the state-of-the-art facility to manufacture and export nicotine and nicotine derivative products commenced in Q4FY25. Progressive scale up is expected in FY26,” it added.
The company’s board recommended a final dividend of ₹7.85 per share.