ITC Ltd posted 6.1 per cent growth in net profit from continuing operations to ₹5,470 crore in the fourth quarter of FY26, compared with ₹5,155 crore in the year-ago period on the back of robust performance from the FMCG business and resilience of the cigarette segment in the face of a steep tax hike.

Total income from continuing operations (adjusted for hotel demerger) went up by 17 per cent to ₹23,821 crore in Q4FY26 from ₹20,376 crore, even as the numbers are strictly not comparable due to changes in taxation.

The board declared a final dividend of ₹8 per share, taking the annual payout to ₹14.5 per share, including the interim dividend of ₹6.5 per share.

For the full year, profit and revenue from continuing operations were up by 10.3 per cent and 4.9 per cent to ₹89,913 crore and ₹21,018 crore, respectively.

The performance was led in part by the cigarette and FMCG business, which includes food and personal care, among others.

Consolidated segment revenue for the FMCG business was up by 15.4 per cent to ₹6,352 crore, while profit before tax jumped by 51.9 per cent to ₹526 crore, making it the most profitable segment after cigarettes, but ahead of agri and paper, paperboard businesses.

The cigarette business reported a profit jump by 7.3 per cent to ₹5,797 crore in Q4FY26, despite an unprecedented rise in tax incidence from February 1. The company took a staggered price hike to minimise the shift to illicit (tax-evaded) cigarettes.

ITC said FY27 presents “an extremely challenging operating environment” due to taxation that will test the resilience of legitimate players like ITC.

Commenting on the impact of the West Asia war, ITC said a prolonged disruption, coupled with emerging El Niño conditions that could weaken monsoons and intensify heatwaves, poses risks to growth, inflation and the current account.