ITC share price traded over 4% lower on Thursday as its largest shareholder BAT is working towards offloading some of its stake in the cigarette-to-hotels conglomerate. ITC share price declined as much as 4.62% to ₹411.85 apiece on the BSE.
“We have been actively working for some time on completing the regulatory process required to give us the flexibility to monetise some of our shareholding,” BAT said in a release.
BAT’s shareholding in ITC decreased to 29.02% in 2023 from 29.19% in 2022.
“We recognise that we have a significant shareholding which offers us the opportunity to release and reallocate some capital. Our shareholding in ITC has existed in one way or another since the early 1900s and is subject to numerous share capital changes and regulatory restrictions,” BAT said.
We continue to pursue all opportunities to enhance balance sheet flexibility and, as part of this, we regularly review our stake in ITC, it added.
BAT also highlighted that the Group’s share of post-tax results of associates and joint ventures increased from £442 million to £585 million which largely relates to the performance of the Group’s main associate, ITC in India.
Its share of ITC’s post-tax results was 19.8% higher at £616 million (2022: £514 million).
“The movements are largely due to the economic recovery in India in 2023 from COVID-19 which led to difficult trading conditions in 2022, more than offsetting a translational foreign exchange headwind,” BAT said.
Also Read: ITC Q3 results: Net profit rises 6% YoY; here are five key highlights
Meanwhile, the FMCG conglomerate ITC had reported 6% year-on-year (YoY) increase in its consolidated net profit at ₹5,335 crore for the quarter ending in December 2023.
ITC’s revenue from operations in Q3FY24 increased 2% to ₹19,484 crore from ₹19,020 crore, YoY.
Its cigarettes business revenue rose 3% YoY, reaching ₹8,295 crore, while FMCG-others business exhibited robust performance, recording revenues of ₹5,218 crore in the third quarter, marking an 8% YoY growth.
At 1:40 pm, ITC shares were trading 4.16% lower at ₹413.95 apiece on the BSE.
Catch Stock Market Live Updates here
Here’s your comprehensive 3-minute summary of all the things Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her Budget speech: Click to download!
Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
More
Less
Published: 08 Feb 2024, 01:44 PM IST