The Hindu Business Line : ITC net doubles in Q4; bonus planned — Board to consider stock-split on June 17

ITC has posted a profit after tax (before exceptional items) of Rs 1,837 crore (Rs 1,592.8 crore) for the year-ended March 31, 2005, registering an increase of 15.3 per cent.

A company release issued here today said that gross turnover for 2004-05 has grown by 13 per cent to Rs 13,350 crore, driven by topline growth across all businesses of the company.

The board has recommended a dividend of Rs 31 per share (previous year it was Rs 20 per share) entailing a total cash outflow of Rs 881.69 crore and income-tax payout of Rs 108.45 crore.

ITC also informed the BSE today that a meeting of the board of directors of the company would be held on June 17, to consider, inter alia, a sub-division of the ordinary shares (present face value is Rs 10 each), increase in authorised share capital (now at Rs 300 crore) and issue of bonus shares.

The company has posted a PAT of Rs 771.7 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2005, against the Rs 387 crore achieved for the corresponding quarter of 2003-04. Gross income for the quarter is placed at Rs 3,593.68 crore (Rs 3,307 crore).

While the pre-tax profit for the quarter grew by 20.5 per cent, the underlying post-tax profit for the period under review has increased by 18.5 per cent, after adjusting for the tax refunds amounting to Rs 35 crore received in the previous year. The results were taken on record by the board at its meeting here today.

Financials for the year include Rs 350 crore (post-tax) representing exceptional items, most of which relate to past litigation. Inclusive of these exceptional items, the company's PAT is placed at Rs 2,191 crore (Rs 1,592.85 crore). The EPS for the year stands at Rs 73.74.

According to the release, the success of the company's strategy of creating multiple drivers of growth leveraging the diverse in-house competencies in its portfolio of businesses was evident in the growing share of the non-cigarette business.

It is stated that over the last five years, net turnover of non-cigarette businesses has tripled to touch Rs 3,197 crore in 2004-05, and consequently, the share in net sales has increased from 25 per cent in 1999-2000 to 42 per cent in 2004-05.

It is further pointed out that despite factoring in a significant revenue charge towards product development and brand-building costs of the new FMCG businesses, operating profits (PBDIT) of non-cigarette businesses have grown at a CAGR of 28 per cent during this period to touch Rs 587 crore in 2004-05.

Gross turnover of the cigarette business has crossed Rs 10,000 crore, driven by a domestic volume growth of 6.5 per cent during the year, and aided by a period of stability in excise regime (except when excise on cigarettes was hiked by 10 per cent in March 2005), which in turn imparted buoyancy to tax revenues from the tobacco sector.

It is suggested that a unified tax regime with moderate rates would best serve the interests of both the exchequer and the industry.

During the year, revenues from the agri commodity business touched Rs 1,050 crore, reinforcing the company's commitment to the agri value chain. The business, according to the statement, has registered substantial progress in most major commodities such as rice, wheat, aqua and coffee, while soya broke even despite severe price disparities between domestic and international markets.

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