A young couple sharing a laugh - in the living room over a Polish joke book, on the beach, in the rain - with the tagline, "Made for each other", hung from billboards at prominent street corners from the 1960s to the 1990s. It was a campaign for one of the largest selling cigarette brands in India, Wills (Navy Cut) from the ITC stable, that resonated with a generation of smokers and non-smokers alike till the curtains came down on tobacco advertising in 2004. As we prepare to welcome 2024, ITC has metamorphosed from a tobacco giant into a conglomerate straddling multiple large-sized businesses. In the mind space of Gen Z or millennials, the company represents a gamut of branded products - from frozen food (ITC Master Chef), noodles (YiPPee!), and cookies (Sunfeast) to snacks (Bingo!) and notebooks (Classmate), and so on and so forth.
ITC highlighted that legal cigarettes account for 9 per cent of tobacco consumption in India, but 80 per cent of tax collection is from tobacco products. While illicit cigarettes account for roughly one-third of the market share, legal cigarette volumes have recovered to around 96 per cent of peak FY13 volumes, after dipping to 70 per cent in FY21.
These cases are being reopened under Section 147 of the Income Tax Act, which empowers the department to reassess income if it believes that taxable income has escaped assessment.
Diversified entity ITC Ltd on Monday said it will demerge its hotels business by incorporating wholly-owned subsidiary ITC Hotels Ltd, paving way to attract appropriate investors and strategic partners. With the company's hotels business maturing over the years, the company said the vertical is ready to chart its own growth path as a separate entity in the fast-growing hospitality industry. "The Board of Directors of ITC Ltd at its meeting held on July 24, 2023, evaluated and discussed various alternative structures for the hotels business.
Vance is expected to be accompanied by at least five senior officials, including from the Pentagon and the State Department, the people cited above said.
US Vice President J D Vance and his wife Usha arrived in Delhi on Monday for a four-day visit. They were welcomed by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. Vance's visit comes amid ongoing trade talks between India and the US. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host a dinner for the Vances on Monday evening after holding talks with the US Vice President. Vance and his family will also travel to Jaipur and Agra during their trip.
During this summer, Indian travel buffs are opting for destinations that provide an escape from the ominous heat, along with coastal regions within the country and countries offering visa-free travel.
State Bank of India, Tech Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Steel, Sun Pharma, Infosys, HCL Tech, Axis Bank, Tata Consultancy Services and NTPC were among the biggest laggards among Sensex shares. Nestle, Hindustan Unilever, Titan, Power Grid, UltraTech Cement and ITC were among the gainers.
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ITC's move to demerge the hotel business into a new entity, ITC Hotels Ltd, is a step in the right direction and will allay investor's concerns on the company's capital allocation strategy in the medium-to-long term, said analysts at Morgan Stanley in a note. According to the company, the board of directors has approved in principle the demerger of the hotels business, wherein ITC will hold a 40 per cent stake in the new entity, and the remaining 60 per cent will be held directly by shareholders. The scheme of arrangement shall be placed for approval of the Board at its next meeting to be convened on 14th August 2023.
From the Sensex pack, HDFC Bank, Maruti, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, ITC, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Bajaj Finance were among the biggest laggards. NTPC, Adani Ports, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Steel and IndusInd Bank were among the gainers.
The resolution seeking his reappointment as chairman and managing director of the diversified conglomerate will be put to vote at the company's annual general meeting to be held on August 11, 2023, according to a notice sent to the shareholders on Tuesday. The company under Puri drove the 'ITC Next' strategy in the last four years encompassing digital acceleration, cost optimisation, investing in new growth vectors and ensuring supply chain agility, its officials said.
A hotel in 1975, entry into paperboards in 1979, India's dominant cigarette maker, ITC, read the tea - or tobacco - leaves early, leveraged its enterprise strengths and stepped up the diversification agenda to create multiple drivers of growth. Some failed, some faltered, some were transformational, adding steadily to the top line. Now those efforts are making a difference: margins from non-cigarettes - FMCG, hotels, agri, paperboards, paper and packaging - are expanding and profits are kicking in more significantly than ever before.
Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, ICICI Bank, and ITC were the biggest laggards. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 4,294.69 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty rebounded sharply on Monday after five days of steep decline amid value buying at lower levels and a rally in global markets. Besides, hectic buying in blue-chip stocks ITC, HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries also helped in market recovery.
'This is the Bengal story, where businesses are nurtured, dreams are realised, and legacies are built.'
Target prices around Rs 400 suggest a significant upside.
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has set aside the penalty imposed on multi-conglomerate ITC by fair trade regulator CCI for not notifying for the acquisition of brands 'Savlon' and 'Shower to Shower' in 2017. ITC had 2017 acquired the antiseptic brand Savlon and the personal care product brand Shower To Shower from Johnson & Johnson Private. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) had on December 11, 2017, imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh on ITC for alleged failure to give notice under sub-section 2 of Section 6 of the Competition Act.
From specialised senior-friendly tours to redesigned hotel amenities, hotels are becoming increasingly attuned to the unique requirements of elderly travellers.
From Sensex shares, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Motors, Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints, ITC, Power Grid, NTPC and Reliance Industries were the major laggards. Among the gainers, Bajaj Finance jumped over 5 per cent. Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv, Bharti Airtel and Maruti also ended higher.
10 largecaps stocks which stand to gain from the Budget.
Diversified entity ITC Ltd on Thursday reported a 22.66 per cent rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 5,225.02 crore in the fourth quarter ended March 2023, led by a strong growth momentum across operating segments. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 4,259.68 crore a year ago, ITC Ltd said in a regulatory filing. Its revenue from operations increased 7 per cent to Rs 18,799.18 crore in the period under review against Rs 17,754.02 crore in the year-ago period.
Investors became richer by nearly Rs 8 lakh crore on Wednesday as benchmark BSE Sensex surged by 740 points amid value buying in utilities and power shares and a strong trend in global markets. The 30-share BSE Sensex surged by 740.30 points or 1.01 per cent to close at 73,730.23.
'Spending by the middle class is limited with a focus on savings. However, there is buoyancy at the top-end.'
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The "asset-right" strategy, reiterated by ITC chairman Sanjiv Puri during the company's 112th annual general meeting (AGM) on August 11, received a thumbs up from the analysts. They, however, believe that sustained earnings growth and synergies with the demerged hotel's vertical will help the stock break out from the ongoing consolidation. "The stock is expected to consolidate between Rs 420 and Rs 450 in the near future.
Speaking at the banquet she hosted in President Dissanayake's honour, President Murmu said Sri Lanka is an important part of India's 'Neighbourhood First' policy and New Delhi would continue to support Colombo's efforts for economic development.
RBI's interest rate decision, quarterly earnings and global cues would be the major driving factors for equity markets this week, analysts said adding that the impact of the Union Budget could linger on this week. Trading activity of foreign investors will also be a key driver for the markets, experts noted. "US and India's manufacturing PMI for January to be released on Monday, will be the key macro data to watch out for.
'Selling could further intensify and take the index towards 22,800-22,750 in the near-term.'
From the 30-share blue-chip pack, Adani Ports, UltraTech Cement, Larsen & Toubro, Sun Pharma, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, NTPC and State Bank of India were the major laggards. Tata Consultancy Services, Reliance Industries, ITC, Asian Paints, HCL Tech and Maruti were among the gainers.
Amid a debate over 70-90-hour work week, the pre-Budget Economic Survey on Friday cited studies to state that spending over 60 hours a week on work could have adverse health effects. The survey noted that spending long hours at one's desk is detrimental to mental well-being and individuals who spend 12 or more hours (per day) at a desk have distressed or struggling levels of mental well-being.
In a development that may encourage increased investment in commercial real estate, the Supreme Court on Thursday gave the industry relief by permitting input tax credit (ITC) on construction expenses for buildings meant to be leased. "If the construction of a building was essential for carrying out the activity of supplying services, such as renting or giving on lease or other transactions in respect of the building or a part thereof, which are covered by clauses (2) and (5) of Schedule II of the CGST (Central Goods and Services Tax) Act, the building could be held to be a plant," said Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Sanjay Karol.
ITC's results for the January-March quarter (Q4) were strong, with robust growth in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) segment and a good performance in hospitality. The tobacco division's performance was on expected lines, with double-digit volume growth, helped by reclaiming of market share from the smuggled trade. There was 60 per cent growth in non-cigarette earnings before interest and tax (Ebit), despite a relatively weak performance in paperboards.
The take by the Economic Survey 2024-25 on work hour week had come weeks after Larsen & Toubro Ltd Chairman and Managing Director SN Subrahmanyan sparked off a raging debate on social media when he said employees should work 90-hour a week, including on Sundays rather than sit at home.
Investors' wealth eroded by a whopping Rs 7.15 lakh crore during the morning trade on Friday as equity markets tumbled, driven by sharp fall in IndusInd Bank shares and unabated foreign fund outflows. The BSE Sensex tanked 708.69 points to 79,356.47 and the NSE Nifty plunged 286.35 points to 24,113.05. Tracking the weak trend in equities, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms tumbled Rs 715,739.19 crore to Rs 4,36,63,565.73 crore ($5.19 trillion) during the morning trade.
ITC Ltd on Friday reported a 23.09 per cent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 5,070.09 crore for the third quarter ended December 2022, helped by growth momentum across its operating segments. The diversified company had posted a net profit of Rs 4,118.80 crore during the October-December quarter of the previous fiscal, ITC said in a regulatory filing. Its revenue from operations was up 3.56 per cent to Rs 19,020.65 crore during the quarter under review, as against Rs 18,365.80 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.
The Union Budget 2025-26, while promising a new framework for smoother mergers and acquisitions (M&As), has plugged a major loophole on carry-forward losses for a total of eight assessment years between amalgamating company and amalgamated company from the date of loss instead of date of the merger. For all mergers effected on or after April 1, 2025, the losses can be carried forward only for the residuary period (counting from the date of loss).
The combined market valuation of eight of the top-10 most valued firms surged Rs 1,21,270.83 crore last week, with Reliance Industries becoming the biggest gainer, in line with an outstanding rally in benchmark equity indices. Last week, the BSE benchmark jumped 1,027.54 points or 1.21 per cent. The BSE Sensex hit its record high of 85,978.25 on Friday.
The GST Council, in its meeting on Saturday, is likely to decide on reducing tax rates on life and health insurance premiums, while hiking it on high-end wrist watches, shoes and apparels, besides considering a separate 35 per cent tax slab for sin goods. The 55th meeting of the GST Council, chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and comprising state counterparts, is likely to discuss rate rejig in about 148 items, besides, it will also deliberate on bringing Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF), a major component for airline industry's operation cost, in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) fold.
Not all gravies for palak paneer need to be packed with onions, tomatoes. Try a methi-flavoured milky gravy.