ITC on Friday posted 18.16 per cent increase in standalone net profit at Rs 2,278.01 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, helped by lower expenses. The Kolkata-headquartered firm had posted a profit of Rs 1,927.9 crore in the January-March quarter of 2012-13 fiscal.
Net sales rose 11.79 per cent to Rs 9,145.14 crore in Q4, 2013-14, from Rs 8,180.30 crore in the year-ago period, ITC said in a statement. During the quarter, overall expenses stood at Rs 5,272.95 crore, down 8.4 per cent, compared to Rs 5,757.77 crore in the year-ago period.
“The company continued to deliver strong financial performance with healthy growth in revenues and high quality earnings. This performance is particularly commendable when viewed against the backdrop of the extremely challenging business context,” the company said in a statement.
Revenue from the FMCG business, including cigarettes, climbed by 12.57 per cent to Rs 4,078.78 crore, from Rs 3,623.23 crore in Q4, 2012-13.“Categories involving higher discretionary spends or with relatively high penetration levels were impacted the most,” ITC said.
Revenue from ITC’s non cigarettes FMCG grew by 13.66 per cent to Rs 2,314.51 crore, compared with Rs 2,036.20 crore in the same period last year.Revenue from hotels business grew marginally to Rs 320.51 crore, from Rs 315.45 crore in Q4, 2012-13.