Cigarette-to-soap maker ITC is expected to report a mid-to-high single digit year-on-year revenue growth for the first quarter this fiscal as the diversified conglomerate’s cigarette, non-cigarette FMCG and Hotels segments are expected to register good growth on the back of an overall uptick in demand.
“We expect 6 per cent revenue growth on account of expected growth of 6 per cent Y-o-Y in the cigarettes segment (2 per cent in terms of volume). FMCG to grow at 7 per cent Y-o-Y and hotels at 8 per cent Y-o-Y,” Axis Securities Equity Research said in its note on ITC Ltd.
The brokerage expects the conglomerate’s paperboards & packaging business revenue to decline on a year-on-year basis, while the Agri business is expected to remain flat for Q1FY25.
“EBITDA margins are expected to decline Y-o-Y on account of a subdued performance in the Agri and Paperboard business,” it added.
The country’s largest cigarette maker is scheduled to declare its April-June quarter results on Thursday.
According to Axis Securities, for the quarter, ITC is expected to post a net profit growth of around 1.6 per cent.
Sharekhan by BNP Paribas said the conglomerate’s sales in value terms is expected to grow by 6.8 per cent y-o-y, while adjusted net profit is likely to witness a 2.2 per cent y-o-y increase.
“Cigarette business revenues are expected to grow by around 7 per cent y-o-y, with volume growth at 2.5% y-o-y, while the non-cigarette FMCG business is expected to grow by 9 per cent y-o-y. The hotel business is expected to grow by 9 per cent y-o-y,” Sharekhan said.
“Paper business is expected to grow by 2 per cent y-o-y, while agri business is likely to post 2 per cent y-o-y decline,” it added.
On Thursday, the ITC scrip opened at ₹497.40 against Wednesday’s close of ₹495.05 apiece on BSE. At 12:30 PM, the stock was trading at ₹494.05.