(Reuters) -Indian consumer goods major ITC reported a rise in fourth-quarter profit on Thursday, benefiting from resilient rural demand and strength in its mainstay cigarettes business.
The maker of “Yippee” instant noodles and “Gold Flake” cigarettes reported a standalone profit before tax and exceptional items of 64.17 billion rupees ($746.65 million) for the quarter ended March 31, compared with 62.88 billion rupees a year earlier.
A steady recovery in rural demand backed by a good monsoon has been partly cushioning the impact from soft consumption in urban areas on account of high cost of living in metros. Analysts said state-led income support schemes have also aided the rural performance.
ITC’s rivals Hindustan Unilever and Nestle India had reported weak fourth-quarter profit last month amid elevated input costs and muted urban demand.
Revenue at ITC’s consumer goods segment, which houses popular household brands such as Aashirvaad, Sunfeast and Bingo, rose 3.7% to 54.95 billion rupees.
Its cigarettes business, which generates the highest revenue, grew nearly 6%.
The company recorded a one-time gain of 151.79 billion rupees after the demerger of its hotels business, ITC Hotels, which listed as a separate entity in late January.
ITC’s standalone revenue from operations grew 9.4% to 184.94 billion rupees.
($1 = 85.9440 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Ananta Agarwal and Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
