ITC Ltd has reported a 22.6 per cent increase in revenues from operations in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal even as profit slipped 2.79 per cent on a consolidated basis in the same period because of higher tax incidence.

The quarterly revenue of Rs 15,404.37 crore was mainly driven by the agri business, followed by cigarettes and the non-tobacco FMCG segment. ITC had recorded revenues of Rs 12,560.64 crore a year ago.

Profit after tax, including the share of profit from the joint ventures and associates, stood at Rs 3,819.62 crore compared with Rs 3,926.72 crore a year ago. The company had reaped a one-time benefit from switching to a lower corporate tax regime in that quarter.

For the full year, ITC reported a 3.42 per cent increase in revenue at Rs 53,155.12 crore while profit dipped 14.17 per cent to Rs 13,382.88 crore. The board announced a final dividend of Rs 5.75 a share (575 per cent) in addition to Rs 5 a share it declared on an interim basis on February 11. Total cash flow on dividends will be Rs 13,230.27 crore.

ITC said it experienced strong sequential recovery in Q4 in all segments. However, the second wave of the pandemic may hit recovery.

Segment break-up

Cigarettes continued to be the bulwark for ITC. Revenue went up 13.18 per cent to Rs 6,508.43 crore in Q4 while pre-tax profit was up 6.72 per cent to Rs 3,895.27 crore, accounting for 77.2 per cent of profit before tax (PBT).

Non-tobacco FMCG — food, health and personal care, stationery products and agarbatti — reported a 15.81 per cent rise in revenue year-on-year at Rs 3,694.8 crore while profit was up 26.6 per cent. For the full year, the PBT jumped 97.2 per cent to Rs 837.99 crore.

Hotels continued to bear the brunt of the pandemic. Even though losses were contained in the Q4 at Rs 40.26 crore from the previous quarter losses of Rs 72.25 crore, for the full year this segment posted a loss of Rs 563.87 crore compared to Rs 154 crore of pre-tax profit. This segment had posted Rs 38.27 crore profit a year ago.

Revenue from agri-business jumped 78.14 per cent to Rs 3,383 crore while PBT rose 45.6 per cent to Rs 185.11 crore.

Paper and paperboard remained the most profitable segment after tobacco, posting 13.13 per cent PBT at Rs 323.25 crore.