ITC Q4 2015 Numbers Lag estimates; Cigarette Volumes Fall

Business

oi-Sunil

By Sunil Fernandes

Published: Saturday, May 23, 2015, 8:07 [IST]

Index heavyweight, ITC has posted a net profit of Rs 2361 crore for the quarter ending March 31, 2015 from Rs 2278 crore in corresponding quarter last fiscal. Total income, during the quarter, was placed at Rs 9,293 crore against Rs 9,238.5 crore in the year-ago.

The net profits have come in way below expectations of around Rs 2500 crores, largely impacted by low volumes and heavy taxation in the cigarettes business.

The company has recommended a dividend of Rs 6.25 per share. "The muted growth in revenue and profits during the quarter reflects, inter alia, the continuing impact of the steep hike in taxation on cigarettes, sluggish demand conditions in the FMCG industry, start-up costs of the Juices category, lack of trading opportunities in agri-commodities and costs relating to rationalisation of Safety Matches manufacturing operations," the company said in a release.

The hotels business also had a difficult year. "The hospitality sector continued to be adversely impacted by a weak pricing scenario in the backdrop of excessive room inventory in key domestic markets and sluggish macroeconomic environment both in India and key source markets," the company said in a statement.

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