Tuesday, 26 February 2013

ITC at Robust pace

Tobacco major, ITC's Agri Business Division - ILTD, which works with the tobacco farmers in Mysore and Hassan districts, has developed affordable farm mechanization solution for small tobacco farmers. In order to develop farm solutions, ILTD imported the technology from a manufacturer in Italy. With the help of this solution, the company can save 50% of the labor requirement in tobacco cultivation. This solution is likely to benefit 60,000 farm families and laborers, as labor shortage always hinders operations timeline, impacts crop quality and the export potential.

While regulatory headwinds have led to a moderation in ITC's cigarette business, the impact has been partially offset by the brisk growth in its FMCG business. Despite a structural rise in taxation, ITC has been able to expand margins in its core cigarette business, thanks to the huge pricing power enjoyed by it. Even cigarettes launched in the new filter segment (cigarette length not exceeding 65 mm) have met with reasonable success and the company is rolling out the products across the country. The company has been consistently reducing losses in the FMCG segment. All these factors have enabled ITC to grow its topline as well as earnings at a robust pace.

No comments:

Post a Comment