http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/org/itc.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report_itc-raises-prices-of-cigarettes-8-20pct_1359507 http://tobacco.org/news/298476.html Cigarette major ITC Ltd, which had increased prices of its flagship brand Gold Flake Kings by 7% prior to the Union budget, has now hiked rates by 8-20% across its portfolio. A channel check in Mumbai suggested shortage in distribution of cigarettes as ITC is in the process of supplying the stock with revised prices. The company has an over-80% share in the cigarette market. . . . ITC's immediate competitor, Godfrey Phillips India Ltd, that sells Four Square and Red and White brand of cigarettes, will also be compelled to take a price hike DNA India India Mon, 15 Mar 2010 04:00:00 GMT http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=conewsstory&tkr=ITC%3AIN&sid=aABT9LTa6kOY http://tobacco.org/news/297640.html ITC Ltd., Asia’s second-largest tobacco company by market value, fell the most in more than nine months after India’s government proposed increasing excise tax on some filter-tipped cigarettes by as much as 18 percent. ITC fell 6.2 percent to 232.25 rupees in Mumbai after declining as much as 7.6 percent. The government will raise the tax on filter cigarettes longer than 60 millimeters, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said while unveiling the government’s annual budget. The government proposed a tax cut in cigarettes not exceeding 60 millimeters. The Kolkata-based company, 32 percent owned by British American Tobacco Plc, earns more than 80 percent of its profit before tax from selling Gold Flake, Classic and other cigarette brands. The company, which also runs hotels and sells shampoos, doesn’t offer cigarettes shorter than 60 millimeters. “They will have to increase prices by about 8 to 10 percent,” said Abhijeet Kundu, an analyst at Antique Stock Broking Ltd. in Mumbai. “ITC has to bring in shorter length cigarettes to compensate for the fall in volume because of the tax increase.” Bloomberg News schatterjee4@bloomberg.net (Saikat Chatterjee and Kartik Goyal) India Fri, 26 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/cons-products/fmcg/ITC-hikes-cigarette-prices-by-7-pc-/articleshow/5577319.cms http://tobacco.org/news/296993.html FMCG firm ITC, largest maker of cigarettes in India, has increased the price of its popular brand, Gold Flake Kings cigarettes by seven per cent. As per the information available, the company has raised the maximum retail price of a pack of 10 cigarettes to Rs 47 from Rs 44 earlier. When contacted company spokesperson confirmed the firm has increased the prices of cigarttes, but declined to comment on details and reasons for the price hike. The Economic Times India Mon, 15 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/firingall-cylinders/385667/ http://tobacco.org/news/296951.html Robust volume growth across all businesses coupled with better profitability helped ITC post a good show in the December quarter, which looks sustainable . . . Unfavourable taxation against cigarettes in recent years partly explains why volume growth for ITC's cigarette business was not encouraging in 2007-08 and 2008-09. However, it did not disturb the company's apple cart much as ITC still sells three out of four cigarettes in the country. With a portfolio of popular brands like India Kings, Gold Flake, Scissors and Bristol among others, ITC has managed to sustain leadership position. Business Standard India Mon, 15 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601091&sid=aGclYkThtLjo http://tobacco.org/news/295774.html ITC Ltd., Asia’s second-largest tobacco company by market value, posted a record quarterly profit as cigarette sales rose and its paper and agriculture businesses almost doubled earnings. Net income climbed 27 percent to 11.4 billion rupees ($247 million) in the three months ended Dec. 31, from 9.03 billion rupees a year earlier, Kolkata-based ITC said in an e-mailed statement today. That compares with the 10.7 billion rupee median estimate of nine analysts compiled by Bloomberg. The fastest pace of earnings growth in three years helped the company’s shares gain as much as 3.8 percent today, the biggest jump in two months. Accelerating growth in the $1.2 trillion economy is boosting income for residents of the world’s second-most populous nation and increasing demand for ITC’s Goldflake and Wills cigarette brands and Fiama di Wills shampoos. “Cigarette volume growth has been very impressive because of the lack of increase in taxes in the budget,” said Abhijeet Kundu, an analyst Bloomberg News schatterjee4@bloomberg.net (Saikat Chatterjee) India Fri, 22 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.telegraphindia.com/1091203/jsp/nation/story_11816262.jsp http://tobacco.org/news/293585.html A cancer-stricken father of three, who lit a Wills Navy Cut for his first puff when he was 16 and got hooked, has taken manufacturers ITC to a consumer court for not warning him about the "dangers" of smoking. In the last stages of throat cancer -- and robbed of his voice following a surgery to remove his larynx -- customs official Deepak Kumar has sought Rs 1 crore in damages. Kumar, additional customs commissioner of Mumbai, today filed his complaint before the Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission of Maharashtra. "Every cigarette packet now carries a statutory warning.... But there was no such thing before that and for 30 years I smoked without realising the dangers," the 59-year-old said. "There was no warning on the packet which indicated that tobacco was a carcinogen. While ITC made money, I was unknowingly marching towards my death. I tried giving up smoking numerous times. But because of the addictive nature of nicotine, I have never been successful. I want justice now." The Telegraph India Wed, 02 Dec 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.financialexpress.com/news/ITC-hikes--prices-of-premium-cigarettes/543447/ http://tobacco.org/news/292919.html Tobacco and FMCG major ITC on Wednesday hiked prices of its premium cigarettes -- India Kings and Benson & Hedges -- in the range of 5-10%. While India Kings, priced at Rs 100, will now cost Rs 110, a pack of Benson & Hedges will come for Rs 105 against Rs 100 earlier. An ITC spokesperson confirmed the hike but declined to give details. Anand Shah, an analyst with Angel Broking, said the hike was partly to compensate for various regulatory issues and also because the company has seen earlier price hikes being absorbed without a dip in sales. Financial Express India Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/iw/2009/11/15/stories/2009111550621100.htm http://tobacco.org/news/292673.html The likely moderation in tobacco business growth and forays into less profitable categories are the primary reasons to exit the stock at these valuations. Building a brand reputation in the personal products business may entail high spending. Investors can consider booking profits in ITC shares, as the stock valuations (30 times trailing earnings, at Rs 254) seem to have outpaced the medium-term growth prospects. Forays into businesses less profitable than the core tobacco business and the likely moderation in growth rates for tobacco are the primary reasons for the recommendation. Business Line India Sat, 14 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/itc-it/s-an-all-round-performance/374161/ http://tobacco.org/news/291593.html The highlights of ITC's sterling set of numbers for the September 2009 quarter are the strong performance of the cigarettes and agri businesses and smaller losses from the non-cigarette FMCG segment. Not surprisingly, the stock closed 5 per cent higher at Rs 260 on Friday, with operating profit margins rising by 620 basis points year-on-year, to just under 36 per cent, on revenues of Rs 4,293 crore, up 14 per cent year-on-year. The strong profitability pushed up the operating profit by nearly 38 per cent to Rs 1,537 crore. The cigarettes business has been remarkably resilient despite the ban on smoking in public places, the hike in value-added taxes in several states and the modest price hikes taken by the company. In fact, the ITC stock was re-rated a few months back since cigarette volumes were seen to be growing at a good clip of 4-5 per cent and industry watchers believed the momentum would sustain. Moreover, the management has indicated that non-cigarette FMCG losses would be brought down to Rs 400 crore this year; while ITC posted a loss of around Rs 100 crore in each of six consecutive quarters, the loss in the September 2009 quarter was Rs 85 crore. Business Standard India Sat, 24 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/cons-products/tobacco/Cigarette-biz-belt-tightening-boost-show/articleshow/5154778.cms http://tobacco.org/news/291579.html Beating market expectations for the second consecutive quarter, ITC has logged a strong performance, thanks to its diversified business portfolio. The tobacco-to-FMCG major has registered a double-digit increase in net profit and revenues as well as a healthy expansion in profit margins. Though the company is witnessing a subdued performance in its hotel business and its non-cigarette FMCG continues to bleed, the good show put up by its other businesses has more than compensated for any adverse impact on profits. ITC has made significant savings on advertising & promotional costs, as is evident from the y-o-y drop in company’s other expenditure. It also made small savings on raw material costs. All this helped the operating profit margin to expand by more than 500 bps to 36.5%, while the net profit margin rose by nearly 250 bps to 23% during the September 2009 quarter. The Economic Times India Sat, 24 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125628409216003337.html?mod=googlenews_wsj http://tobacco.org/news/291527.html ITC Ltd., India's largest cigarette maker by sales, Friday posted a 26% rise in second quarter net profit, helped by an overall strong performance in all its business operations, except hotels. Net profit for the July-September period rose to 10.10 billion rupees ($217.5 million) from 8.03 billion rupees a year earlier. Net sales increased 14% to 42.93 billion rupees from 37.63 billion rupees, helped by higher sales at its tobacco and non-tobacco consumer goods segments, agribusiness and paperboards business, the company said. The results beat analysts' expectations, with a Dow Jones Newswires poll of 10 analysts expecting, on average, net profit of 9.12 billion rupees on revenue of 41.49 billion rupees. The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition India Fri, 23 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Interviews/Cigarette-taxes-are-discriminatory-Kurush-Grant/articleshow/5063486.cms http://tobacco.org/news/290344.html Discriminatory taxes on cigarettes have not helped reduce the tobacco consumption in the country, says ITC divisional chief executive (tobacco division) Kurush Grant. In an exclusive chat with ET, he says that the move has only led some consumers moving to smuggled and tax evaded cigarettes: What are your views on discriminatory taxes on cigarettes vis-a-vis other tobacco products? Though cigarettes account for less than 15% of the total tobacco consumed in India, it contributes more than 90% of the total tax revenue collected from the tobacco industry. While the intent of the government has been to reduce the aggregate consumption of tobacco, extremely high tax rate on cigarettes has only served to squeezed demand for the cigarette form of tobacco, even as total consumption of tobacco in the country continues to grow. . . . Q. Will implementation of GST impact the movement of smuggled contraband cigarettes which already enjoys an illegal advantage of tax arbitrage? Please elaborate. KG: It will depend entirely on the manner in which GST is implemented on tobacco. A single point, first point specific excise duty subsuming all other taxes would certainly be the more revenue efficient methodology. The Economic Times India Mon, 28 Sep 2009 04:00:00 GMT http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/Business/India-Business/ITC-Q1-net-profit-up-174-at-Rs-879-crore/articleshow/4812604.cms http://tobacco.org/news/287724.html Driven by increase in the FMCG and the paper and packaging businesses, ITC Ltd on Thursday posted 17.4% rise in net profit in the first quarter of this fiscal at Rs 879 crore, even though growth in its overall revenues remained muted. The company had a net profit of Rs 748.67 crore in the same period last year. The total income of the company during the period rose marginally by 5% to Rs 4220.4 crore from Rs 4014 crore in the same period last fiscal. Pre-tax profits of the company rose by 18.3% to Rs 1,317 crore during the quarter, a company statement said. ITC said despite the tough economic conditions, FMCG and paper and packaging businesses grew in net revenues by 19% and 16% respectively. The Times of India India Fri, 24 Jul 2009 04:00:00 GMT http://in.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idINBOM13122120090724?sp=true http://tobacco.org/news/287722.html * Profits up better cigarette prices and leaf tobacco exports * Revenues affected by hotels and agri-business * Increase in tax on cigarettes affected demand Reuters India Fri, 24 Jul 2009 04:00:00 GMT http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/itc-plans-rs-13000-cr-investment-in-paper-hotels-businesses/364896/ http://tobacco.org/news/287721.html Diversified business conglomerate ITC Ltd is planning to invest Rs 4,000-5,000 crore over the next five years in a new paper plant, provided it finds 1,500-2,000 acres in time. ITC, 31.7 per cent owned by British American Tobacco, is India’s top cigarette maker and also makes consumer goods and runs the Welcome Group of hotels. At a press conference in Kolkata today, Y C Deveshwar, chairman, ITC Ltd (pictured), said: “Acquiring adequate land for fresh investments and business expansion is a challenge in India. Nonetheless, we are looking at 1,500-2,000 acres in either of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. We intend to invest close to Rs 4,000-5,000 crore over the next five years in building a new greenfield paper plant, depending on how we scale up.” The company currently has a 0.5 million tonne paper plant in which it invested Rs 3,000 crore. “Our focus areas in the short term would be paper, hotels and non-cigarette FMCG businesses. Business Standard India Sat, 25 Jul 2009 04:00:00 GMT