ITC's plan to distribute around 80-85
percent of its earnings as dividends in the medium term is a positive for
valuation
-Results above Street expectation
-FMCG excluding cigarettes saw double digit
growth with higher margins
-Market share increased in most categories
-Hotel and paper business hit due to lockdown
-Valuation inexpensive, higher dividend
payout to support valuation
-----------------------------
ITC’s (CMP: Rs195.45;) quarterly results were above Street expectations. Cigarette volumes have
declined by around 35 to 40 percent as against expectations of a decline
of 30-35 percent. A shut down of manufacturing operations in April, along
with a price hike of around 8 to 10 percent in order to mitigate the increase
in taxation, led to some volume decline.
Revenues shrank by 21 percent year on year on the
back of a decline of 92 percent in the hotel segment, 33 percent in the paper
business and 30 percent in cigarettes. Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG)
excluding cigarettes grew 10 percent year on year.
EBIDTA (Earnings before
Interest, Depreciation, Tax and Amortization) for the June 2020 quarter were
down by 42 percent year on year mainly because of lower revenue growth and
lower gross margin while other expenses were lower by 15 percent year on year.
Net profit after tax fell by 26
percent year on year, aided by a lower effective tax rate which stood at
25 percent in June quarter as compared to 34 percent in the year ago quarter.
Segmental
performance:
Cigarette business-can
the mojo come back?
Cigarette revenues saw a
decline of 30 percent year on year because of the shutdown in manufacturing
activities for almost 45 to 50 days. However, production was ramped up as soon
as permission to start manufacturing operations was received and subsequently
the company strengthened the supply chain. Currently, all factories are
operational and production has been scaled up to pre-Covid levels. Also the
sales and distribution operations have been largely normalized. Due to the
sealed international border, there was a significant reduction in imported
cigarettes. ITC’s two key competitors faced multiple headwinds and were not able
to continue manufacturing operations. Thanks to ramping up production and lack
of competition, ITC was able to gain market share.
ITC introduced various variants
in the regular sized filter and double size filter segment. In order to capture
the young millennials who prefer loose cigarettes, ITC introduced The Flake
brand in an innovative 5 stick pack as compared to the usual 10 stick pack in
some target markets.
FMCG-Others-Double
digit growth along with margin expansion
FMCG revenue grew by 19 percent
year on year (excluding life style retailing and educational and stationery
products) while segment EBIDTA grew by 42 percent year on year at Rs 257 core
with operating margin expanding by 170 basis points.


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