ITC Q3 net up 1.19% at₹5,638 crore

Beating street estimates, diversified conglomerate ITC on Thursday reported around 1.19 per cent year-on-year growth in its standalone net profit at ₹5638.25 crore for the third quarter this fiscal, backed by around 8 per cent y-o-y increase in its gross revenue during the period.

The Kolkata-headquartered conglomerate had posted a net profit of₹5572.07 crore during the third quarter last fiscal.

The cigarette-to-soap maker’s gross revenue for the October-December quarter of FY25 soared to ₹18,055.46 crore from ₹16,701.41 crore for the corresponding period of FY24, driven by good growth in cigarette, hotels and agri businesses.

The company, in a media statement, said it witnessed a resilient performance amidst a subdued demand environment and sharp escalation in input costs. Sharp cost escalation in key input materials was seen during the quarter.

Total expenses during the quarter under review witnessed an 11.79 per cent y-o-y rise to ₹1652.21 crore.

During Q3FY25, revenue from the cigarette business rose 7.78 per cent y-o-y at to ₹8136.29 crore, while operating profit from the segment increased by around 4 per cent y-o-y to ₹4,924.04 crore during the period.

The non-cigarette FMCG business registered a 4.01 per cent y-o-y growth in its revenue to ₹5,418.18 crore, while operating profit fell 26.56 per cent y-o-y to ₹317.11 crore during the period. “Severe inflationary pressures witnessed in prices of edible oil, wheat, maida, potato, cocoa, packaging inputs etc, partially mitigated through focused cost management initiatives, calibrated pricing actions and premiumisation,” ITC said.

Hotels business revenue rose 14.69 per cent y-o-y to ₹931.29 crore during Q3FY25, while operating profit from the segment increased 41.49 per cent y-o-y to ₹216.89 crore during the period under review. The conglomerate said it was the best ever quarterly performance by the Hotels business, driven by retail, wedding and F&B segments. “EBITDA margin expands 450 basis points y-o-y, driven by higher RevPAR, operating leverage and strategic cost management,” it added.

Hotels business

Notably, ITC Ltd’s Hotels business was demerged into ITC Hotels Ltd with effect from January 1, 2025. Accordingly, the record date was fixed as January 6 to determine the shareholders of ITC Ltd to whom equity shares of ITC Hotels Ltd would be allotted pursuant to the demerger.

ITC Ltd board on Thursday recommended an interim dividend of ₹6.50 per share for the financial year ending March 31, 2025.