Diversified conglomerate ITC Ltd on Thursday (October 19) reported a 10.3% year-on-year (YoY) jump in standalone net profit at ₹4,927 crore for the second quarter that ended September 30, 2023. ITC's net profit in the same quarter last year was at ₹4,466 crore, the company said in a regulatory filing. A CNBC-TV18 poll had predicted a profit of ₹4,911 crore for the quarter under review.

In the September quarter, ITC's standalone total revenue stood at ₹16,550 crore, up 2.6% YoY against ₹16,129.9 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. The CNBC-TV18 poll had estimated revenue at ₹16,880 crore for the quarter under review.

#2QWithCNBCTV18 | ITC reports Q2 margin below our estimates pic.twitter.com/UBWqNuXBzO

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) October 19, 2023

At the operating level, EBITDA grows 3% to ₹6,041.5 crore in the second quarter of this fiscal over ₹5,864 crore in the corresponding period in the previous fiscal. CNBC-TV18 Polls had predicted EBITDA of ₹6,310 crore for the quarter under review.

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EBITDA margin stood at 36.5% in the reporting quarter as compared to 36.4% in the corresponding period in the previous fiscal. EBITDA is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation. CNBC-TV18 Polls had predicted a margin of 37.4% for the quarter under review.

The FMCG other businesses continue to deliver strong performance with segment revenue growing 8.3% year-on-year on a high base to ₹5,292 crore (2-year CAGR +14.5%). Also, segment EBITDA margins expanded 150 bps year-on-year to 11%.

The FMCG cigarette's net segment revenue and segment Profit Before Interest and Taxes (PBIT) are up 8.5% and 8.0% year-on-year respectively. The net segment revenue is +15.7% and the segment PBIT is +15.5%.

In the hotels segment, segment revenue grew 21.2% year-on-year, on a high base (1.5x of Q2 FY20). Segment PBIT up 50% year-on-year (7.2x of Q2 FY20). Stellar performance across properties driven by retail and MICE segments.

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The segment EBITDA margin is up 170 bps year-on-year to 30.7% driven by higher RevPAR, structural cost interventions & operating leverage. The scheme of demerger was approved by the board in August 2023 and progressing as per scheduled timelines.

Coming to agri-business revenue, it grew by 26.4% year-on-year (excluding wheat & rice exports) driven by value-added agri products & leaf tobacco.

In line with its strategy to rapidly grow the salience of value-added products in the portfolio, the business ramped up capacity utilisation of the recently commissioned value-added Spices processing facility in Guntur.

The performance in the paperboards, paper & packaging segment reflects the impact of low-priced Chinese supplies and muted demand in export markets, a sharp reduction in global pulp prices, relatively subdued domestic demand, and a high base effect. The segment revenue declined 9.5% year-on-year (2-year CAGR +6.4%).

The results came after the close of the market hours. Shares of ITC Ltd ended at ₹450.30, down by ₹1.25, or 0.28 percent on the BSE.

First Published:Oct 19, 2023 8:41 PM IST