Diversified entity ITC Ltd on Monday reported a 16.08 per cent rise in consolidated net profit to ₹5,180.12 crore for the first quarter ended June 2023 against ₹4,462.25 crore in the April-June period of the last fiscal, ITC Ltd said in a regulatory filing.

Its consolidated revenue from operations declined 6 per cent to Rs 18,639.48 crore, impacted by its agribusiness division. It was ₹19,831.27 crore in Q1 of FY22-23.

Total expenses slipped 12.53 per cent year-on-year to ₹12,421.77 crore.

The total income down 3.92 per cent at ₹19,361.78 crore.

Its gross revenue from the sale of products and services also fell 6 per cent to ₹18,508.23 crore.

“Amidst a challenging operating environment and high-base effect in some of its operating segments, the company sustained its strong growth momentum during the quarter driven by a focus on customer centricity, accelerated digital adoption, execution excellence and agility,” said ITC in an earning statement.

FMCG revenue

During the quarter, revenue from the “total FMCG” segment, which also includes cigarettes, surged 13.46 per cent to ₹13,528.37 crore. It was ₹11,922.81 crore in the first quarter of FY22-23.

Its revenue from the cigarette business increased 11.94 per cent to ₹8,355.66 crore in the April-June quarter of this fiscal. It was ₹7,464.10 crore in the year-ago period.

“The Business continues to counter illicit trade and reinforce market standing by fortifying the product portfolio through innovation, democratising premiumisation across segments and enhancing product availability backed by superior on-ground execution,” it said.

The company’s revenue from the FMCG-others segment also rose 16 per cent to Rs 5,172.71 crore against ₹4,458.71 crore.

ITC’s FMCG-others segment consists of branded packaged foods, such as staples, snacks, meals, dairy and beverages, apparel, education and stationery products, personal care products, safety matches and incense sticks.

“The Businesses continued to drive improvement in profitability through multi-pronged interventions viz premiumisation, supply chain optimisation, judicious pricing actions, digital initiatives, strategic cost management and fiscal incentives,” said ITC.

It had strong growth in categories such as - staples, biscuits, noodles, beverages, dairy, agarbatti and premium soaps. Besides, it also continued to witness strong traction in education and stationery products business.

Revenue from ITC’s hotel segment rose 7.6 per cent in the June quarter to ₹624.90 crore from ₹580.71 crore in the corresponding quarter.

According to ITC, this is the “Best-ever Q1 for the Hotels Business”, a segment which the company is going to demerge into a separate entity.

“Strong growth was witnessed in ARRs (Average Room Rate) across properties, though Occupancy moderated on a high base due to relatively fewer wedding dates during the quarter and pre-planned renovations,” it said.

Margins of ITC’s hotel segment expanded 140 bps year-on-year to 33.9 per cent, driven mainly by higher RevPAR (Revenue per available room), curated packages, finest F&B offerings and strategic cost management initiatives, it added.

Agribusiness hit

ITC’s agribusiness revenue declined 23.56 per cent to ₹5,726.98 crore as it was impacted by restrictions on wheat and rice exports. It was ₹7,492.14 crore in the April-June quarter of the preceding fiscal.

“Restrictions imposed on wheat and rice exports by the Government in the backdrop of inflationary headwinds and food security concerns weighed on Segment Revenue during the quarter,” it said.

ITC’s revenue from the “paperboards, paper and packaging’ segment was also down 6.45 per cent to ₹2,120.76 crore from ₹2,267.22 crore earlier.

This “reflects the impact of subdued demand (domestic and exports), a sharp reduction in global pulp prices and high base effect,” it added.

Revenue from other segments, including its information technology services and branded residences, increased 11.51 per cent to Rs 820.59 crore against ₹735.84 crore in Q1/FY22-23.

Shares of ITC on Monday settled at ₹448.95 on BSE, up 0.06 per cent from the previous close.

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