ITC names Puri as CEO, beats estimates with 6% rise in profit

DIVERSIFIED CONGLOMERATE ITC, which has a presence in cigarettes, FMCG, hotels, paper boards and agri-produce, on Friday effected a change of guard by appointing Sanjiv Puri, the current chief operating officer, as its next CEO. Puri will take over from YC Deveshwar, who is currently executive chairman and chief executive, on February 5.

However, the company has split the post into two — while Puri will take over the position of CEO and will be the executive leader, Deveshwar will move to a non-executive role as chairman and will play the role of a mentor.

The change of guard at ITC comes after more than two decades as Deveshwar’s term started in 1996 and saw the firm diversify into areas other than cigarettes. According to ITC, under Deveshwar, the company’s revenue grew from Rs 5,200 crore to Rs 51,500 crore, a near10-fold jump. The veteran decided to step down against the wishes of the board as he’s turning 70 and wants to put in place a young leadership.

Puri, 54, is an alumnus of IIT Kanpur and has been with ITC for more than three decades, during which he has overseen the company’s FMCG business apart from cigarettes, personal care products and food.

ITC on Friday also beat estimates to post a 5.7 per cent jump in its standalone net profit on a year-on-year basis to Rs 2,646.7 crore during the Octoberdecember quarter. During the period total income from operations rose 4.7 per cent to Rs 13,570 crore. Operating profit grew 2.1 per cent to Rs 3,546.35 crore while margins were at 26.1 per cent against 26.8 per cent in the same period last year.

While cigarette revenue grew 2.24 per cent year-on-year to Rs 8,287.97 crore, other FMCG business revenue posted a marginal 1.67 per cent growth to Rs 3,033.69 crore during the period. Operating profit from the cigarette business increased over 3 per cent year-on-year to Rs 2,569.26 crore. But other FMCG business posted an operating loss of Rs 19.66 crore against an operating profit of Rs 18.75 crore in the corresponding period a year ago.

The ITC share closed down 2.78 per cent at Rs 257.50 on Friday on the BSE. FE