Expect progressive improvement in demand: ITC CMD

ITC Chairman and Managing Director Sanjiv Puri on Friday expressed cautious optimism about demand outlook, saying the company expected progressive improvement with the easing of interest rates, improved weather conditions and benign inflation at an aggregate level. Softer demand environment has weighed on businesses.

- ISHITA AYAN DUTT

On the performance of the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) business, Puri said at the company's annual general meeting (AGM) that on account of weak external sector combined with food inflation and dumping of products, at an aggregate level the economy has seen softer demand. "Rural is better and it's improving."

He added that there was a spike in inflation in the second half of the year, which is when the problem with growth was also visible. Elaborating on the strategies adopted by ITC, Puri said, the company had taken a lot of actions to bring in internal efficiencies. Pricing actions were calibrated in the wake of a soft demand environment and the product-mix was enriched. He said: "The outcomes will be visible in the quarters ahead."

In the non-cigarettes business, FMCG leads the revenue mix. Citing an analyst report, Puri said, the company's FMCG business had the highest addressable market size of ₹5 trillion and it had been created in a very capital-efficient fashion.