The stock was down 1.1 per cent to Rs 198.45. The scrip hit a low of Rs 197.35 during the day.
The company looks set to report a 33-40 per cent year-on-year (YoY) decline in net profit for the June quarter, hurt by a sharp plunge in cigarette and paper segment sales, and a near washout quarter for hotels business.
Net sales may drop 25-30 per cent, with margins expected to take a severe hit of 800-1,300 basis points. The silver lining, if any, would be 5-10 per cent growth in FMCG segment sales.
It must be noted that cigarette sales were strictly not allowed for the first 45 days of the lockdown-hit quarter.
The production was allowed only from mid-May and the supply started coming into the market from May-end.
Sales recovered substantially in June, said analysts, who see cigarette volume degrowing 50 per cent for the quarter. This would be on a base of 3 per cent volume growth in the year-ago quarter.
The cigarette volume declined 10 per cent in the March quarter.
Sharekhan sees ITC’s profit at Rs 2,103 crore, down 33.7 per cent. This brokerage expects ITC sales to fall 27.7 per cent to Rs 8,312 crore. Operating profit margin is seen at 27.7 per cent.