*ITC Q1 FY23 Highlights (QoQ)*
-Operating profit rose 9% to Rs 6,077.2 crore. Analysts had pegged it at Rs 5,302.2 crore.
-Cigarette revenue rose 4% to Rs 7,464.1 crore.
-Revenue of the remaining fast-moving consumer goods business rose 7.5% to Rs 4,458.7 crore.
-Hygiene portfolio sales remained subdued while being higher than pre-pandemic levels.
-Sharp rebound in hotels with revenue rising 42.5% to Rs 580.7 crore and average room rates surpassing pre-pandemic levels.
-Farm business revenue rose 71.2% to Rs 7,492.1 crore driven by wheat, rice and leaf tobacco exports.
-Paperboards, paper and packaging segment revenue increased 3.8% to Rs 2,267.2 crore.
-The margin stood at 30.6% against 31.5%. It comes on the back of a 13.5% jump in the cost of materials consumed during the quarter.
-E-commerce sales were at nearly 4.2 times of pre-Covid-19 levels or first quarter of FY20.
According to the company, while inflation remains a key monitorable, the prospects of a favourable monsoon and the recent moderation in prices of key commodities along with proactive interventions by the central government and the Reserve Bank of India augur well for sustained economic recovery and a pick-up in consumption expenditure.
Discretionary and out-of-home categories such as snacks, beverages, confectionery, frozen snacks, fragrances and agarbattis recorded "strong growth", according to the company's presentation.
View: Strong quarterly performance