ITC plans Rs20,000 crore investment in next five years: CMD Sanjiv Puri

Diversified group ITC Ltd is planning to invest Rs20,000 crore across business portfolios with about 35-40 per cent earmarked for FMCG sector, 35 per cent going to paper boards and packaging, and the remaining into other businesses, including corporate, over the next five years. Chairman and managing director Sanjiv Puri announced this at the company’s annual general meeting on Saturday.

The investment, he said, is aimed at improving competitiveness of the company and making it future-ready, adding that  the company is confident of its business prospects despite the current headwinds.

The medium-term capital allocation plan includes the setting up of a new facility for the paper boards and packaging business, as the present site at Bhadrachalam is in a fully saturated condition, Puri said.

Low priced Chinese supplies in international markets, including India, muted domestic demand, increase in wood cost have adversely impacted the paperboards, paper and packaging business, he pointed out. 

As part of the thrust on expanding consumer goods business, ITC will be launching health and nutrition brand 'Right Shift' in next 10 days, Puri said. 

ITC, he said, has commissioned a state-of-the-art facility to manufacture and export nicotine and nicotine derivative products, adding that customer are trials  andnderway; export shipments are expected to be scaled up progressively.

ITC expects to complete the proposed demerger of its hotels business within the next six months, he said. Also, the company aims to explore opportunities focusing on market proximity as part of its asset-right strategy for ITC Hotels, he added.

Without detailing ITC’s plans, Puri also highlighted the increasing demand for e-commerce, which saw an increase from six to eight per cent, although returns from the segment contributed only two per cent to ITD’s total revenue.

ITC remains focused on the climate aspect of every business segment, he said.

Although trade restrictions imposed by the government to ensure food security has limited scope for agri business, Purt said the company continued to leverage its strong farm linkages, multi-modal logistics capability and agile supply chain operations to scale up its agri business.

ITC reported an 8.9 per cent growth in its after-tax profit at Rs20,422 for the full financial year ended 31 March 2024. Revenue grew 6.8 per cent to Rs69,446 crore.