ITC Becomes the 11th Company To Cross INR 5 Trillion Market Capitalization Milestone The cigarettes-to-hotels conglomerate achieved this when its shares hit fresh 52-week high of INR 402.65 on NSE and INR 402.60 on BSE, while its market cap stood at INR 5.01 trillion
By Teena Jose
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ITC Ltd becomes the 11th company to cross the INR 5 trillion market capitalization milestone with its shares hitting a fresh 52-week high of INR 402.65 on NSE and INR 402.60 on BSE, while its market cap stood at INR 5.01 trillion. The other companies that have achieved the milestone include Reliance Industries, Tata Consultancy Services, HDFC Bank, HDFC, Infosys, ICICI Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Life Insurance Corp Of India, State Bank of India and Bharti Airtel.
According to media reports, Investors see ITC as a defensive option due to its stable cash flow and dividends. Moreover, the company's strong operational performance, backed by double-digit growth in cigarette volume and a robust recovery in its hotels business, has further enhanced its appeal from a fundamental standpoint. Notably, ITC has delivered resilient performance in the past few quarters, despite an uncertain demand environment and inflationary pressures.
As per a Times Now report, the domestic brokerage firm Sharekhan has said that ITC's performance was driven by good recovery in its core cigarette business in the post-Covid era, steady double-digit growth in the non-cigarette FMCG business, growth in the hotel business and paperboard, paper and packaging (PPP) business.
"We expect volume growth momentum in the cigarette business to continue in the quarters ahead. Going ahead, the non-cigarette FMCG business is expected to grow in double digits and its OPM (10% in Q3) is expected to consistently improve, while the hotel business will benefit from strong industry tailwinds in the coming years. Hence, compared to other large peers, ITC has much better earning visibility (15% CAGR over FY2022-FY2025)," Sharekhan reportedly stated.
ITC is one of India's foremost private sector companies with a diversified presence in FMCG, hotels, packaging, paperboards and specialty papers and agri-business. According to the company's official website, ITC's aspiration to be an exemplar in sustainability practices is manifest in its status as the only company in the world, of its size and diversity, to be carbon, water and solid waste recycling positive.