ITC Ltd on Thursday reported a 5 percent rise in its standalone net profit to Rs 5113.36 crore for the March 2026 quarter, as price increases in its core cigarettes business cushioned the impact of higher taxes on the segment.

The diversified entity, which makes Gold Flake cigarettes, had posted a net profit of Rs 4,875 crore in the January-March period a year ago, ITC said in an exchange filing.

ITC implemented price increases across its cigarette brands following the government's excise duty hike that came in effect in February, though the increases were calibrated to protect volumes.

While stating that India's macro-economic outlook remains resilient, the company cautioned that consumer sentiment can be impacted amid global geopolitical headwinds.

"The ongoing West Asia conflict has heightened concerns around India’s energy security and imported inflation. 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. These factors may also have second-order impact on consumer sentiment and demand conditions and remain key monitorables in the near term," it stated in an exchange filing.

The company reported cigarette revenue of Rs 11,066 crore in Q4 FY26, compared with Rs 8,400 crore in the January–March quarter of the previous year.

"The extremely stringent regulations along with the discriminatory and steep taxation on cigarettes have had numerous negative, albeit unintended repercussions. These include rapid growth in illicit cigarette volumes, resulting in sub-optimisation of the revenue potential of the tobacco sector and significant loss to the Exchequer," the company stated.

"The business has adopted a strategic approach to mitigate the impact of the unprecedented increase in tax incidence and sustain its market standing. This includes, staggered and agile pricing actions to minimise the risk of a significant shift of volumes to illicit trade," it added.

Meanwhile, during the year, its 'Other FMCG business' reported a 15 percent year-on-year hike in revenue to Rs 6,304 crore, while profit from the segment rose 51 percent in the same period.

New age acquisitions like 24 Mantra Organic Foods, Yoga Bar, Mother Sparsh, and Prasuma & Meatigo, "delivered robust growth of 60 percent during the year and together are clocking an annual recurring revenue of over Rs 1,350 crore," it stated.

The company had recorded a one-time gain of Rs 15,179 crore in the year-ago quarter following the demerger of its hotels business.

The company also recommended a final dividend of Rs 8 per equity share for the financial year ended 31st March, 2026.

"The Final Dividend, if declared, will be paid between Friday, 24th July, 2026 and Wednesday, 29th July, 2026," the company said.

"Together with the Interim Dividend of Rs 6.50 per Ordinary Share declared by the Board on 29th January, 2026, the total Dividend for the financial year ended 31st March, 2026 would be Rs 14.50 per Ordinary Share of Re 1/- each," it added.

The company has fixed Wednesday, 27th May, 2026, as the record date for the purpose of determining the eligibility of the shareholders for the said dividend.

Shares of ITC settled marginally higher at Rs 307.65 per share on the NSE, up 0.033 percent.