ITC: how the business works

Shoppers and businesses pay ITC for cigarettes, foods, farm goods and paperboard; materials take ₹35 of every ₹100, excise duty ₹12, and ₹22 is profit.

• 01Cigarettes were 45.5% of ITC's FY26 revenue from outside customers but earned 82.2% of its segment profit.
• 02Taxes on cigarettes rose from 1 Feb 2026. Excise duty in Q1 FY27 was ₹10,409 crore, against ₹1,635 crore a year earlier.

• Cigarettes

  ITC's largest business by profit. FY26 segment revenue was ₹40,601 crore, including excise duty.

• Packaged foods

  Staples and meals, snacks, dairy and drinks, biscuits and cakes, chocolates, coffee and sweets, sold through shops.

• Personal care, stationery, matches and agarbattis

  Everyday household products, reported with foods in the FMCG-Others segment.

• Digital-first and organic brands

  Yogabar, Mother Sparsh, Prasuma and 24 Mantra Organic, which ITC calls digital-first and organic brands. ITC says their annual sales run-rate passed ₹1,350 crore in FY26.

• Farm produce (Agri)

  Buys and sells wheat, rice, spices, coffee, soya, potatoes and leaf tobacco. ITC says it sources nearly 40 lakh tonnes a year.

• Paperboard, paper and packaging

  Makes paperboard and packaging at mills including Bhadrachalam, which ITC calls India's largest integrated paper plant.

• IT services and others

  ITC Infotech (IT services), the ITC Grand Central hotel in Mumbai and fresh food.

Source: Report and Accounts 2026 (FY26), incl. standalone and consolidated financial statements and BRSR; Media statement and results presentation, Q4 FY26 and FY26

• Smokers

  46%

  of revenue

  Buy ITC cigarettes from shops. Share is of FY26 revenue from outside customers, after removing sales between ITC's own businesses.

• Households buying foods and personal care

  27%

  of revenue

  Buy packaged foods, personal care products, stationery, matches and agarbattis from shops and online.

• Buyers of farm produce

  14%

  of revenue

  Buy wheat, rice, spices, coffee, soya and leaf tobacco from ITC's Agri business.

• Businesses buying paperboard and packaging

  8%

  of revenue

  Buy paperboard, paper and packaging from ITC's mills.

• IT clients, hotel guests and others

  6%

  of revenue

  Pay ITC Infotech for IT services, stay at ITC Grand Central in Mumbai, or buy fresh food.

Source: Report and Accounts 2026 (FY26), incl. standalone and consolidated financial statements and BRSR

1. 1In FY26 ITC's businesses brought in ₹89,913 crore of revenue, plus ₹2,426 crore of other income.
2. 2Part-owned companies, such as ITC Hotels, added ₹377 crore as ITC's share of their profit.
3. 3Materials and goods bought took ₹32,548 crore. Excise duty, a tax included in ITC's selling prices, took ₹11,045 crore.
4. 4Other running costs took ₹12,221 crore, employees ₹6,782 crore and income tax ₹7,015 crore.
5. 5What was left for ITC's shareholders was ₹20,689 crore of profit.

Source: Report and Accounts 2026 (FY26), incl. standalone and consolidated financial statements and BRSR; XBRL consolidated results (integrated filing), Q4 FY26 and FY26

Each line = amount ÷ total money in × 100. Lines may not add to exactly ₹100 because of rounding.

Source: Report and Accounts 2026 (FY26), incl. standalone and consolidated financial statements and BRSR; XBRL consolidated results (integrated filing), Q4 FY26 and FY26

• Farm produce and leaf tobacco

  ITC says it sources nearly 40 lakh tonnes of farm produce from over 20 crop value chains. Its Agri business also supplies leaf tobacco to its cigarette business.

• Plants

  ITC reports 66 plants and 51 offices in India in its FY26 sustainability report (BRSR).

• Distribution network

  50 warehouses and 2,500 product variants (SKUs), reaching nearly 70 lakh outlets.

• People

  22,481 employees on 31 Mar 2026, plus 25,508 contract workers.

• Paper mills

  Bhadrachalam paper plant, plus the Century Pulp & Paper mill at Lalkuan, Uttarakhand (4.8 lakh tonnes a year), bought on 1 Aug 2026.

Source: Report and Accounts 2026 (FY26), incl. standalone and consolidated financial statements and BRSR; Acquisition of the Pulp and Paper Undertaking (Century Pulp & Paper) of Aditya Birla Real Estate Ltd: business transfer agreement; Acquisition of Century Pulp & Paper completed (update)

Source: Report and Accounts 2025 (FY25), incl. standalone and consolidated financial statements; Report and Accounts 2026 (FY26), incl. standalone and consolidated financial statements and BRSR

Source: Report and Accounts 2026 (FY26), incl. standalone and consolidated financial statements and BRSR

Source: Report and Accounts 2026 (FY26), incl. standalone and consolidated financial statements and BRSR

Source: Crisil Ratings rating rationale: Crisil AAA/Stable / Crisil A1+ reaffirmed; bank facilities enhanced to Rs 5,250 cr; Report and Accounts 2026 (FY26), incl. standalone and consolidated financial statements and BRSR; Audited standalone and consolidated financial results, Q4 FY26 and FY26 (year ended 31 Mar 2026) and 2 more

• Packaged foods and personal care

  Working

  Segment revenue +10.5%, FY26

  FMCG-Others revenue rose from ₹22,015 crore in FY25 to ₹24,322 crore in FY26, and segment profit rose 13.9% to ₹1,812 crore. In Q1 FY27 revenue rose 15.3%, partly from adding Yogabar.

  Status: Working, on track against what the company said.

• Digital-first and organic brands

  Working

  Run-rate about ₹1,500 crore, Q1 FY27

  ITC says the yearly sales run-rate of Yogabar, Mother Sparsh, Prasuma and 24 Mantra passed ₹1,350 crore in FY26, up about 60%. It said about ₹1,500 crore in Q1 FY27.

  Status: Working, on track against what the company said.

• Bigger paper business

  New

  +4.8 lakh tonnes a year, from 1 Aug 2026

  ITC bought the Century Pulp & Paper mill for up to ₹3,500 crore; the deal closed on 1 Aug 2026. Paper segment profit fell 14.6% in FY26 but rose 43.2% in Q1 FY27.

  Status: New, recently announced.

• IT services: ITC Infotech and Happiest Minds

  Early

  Deal announced 31 Aug 2026, pending approvals

  ITC Infotech plans to buy 22.106% of Happiest Minds, merge it in and list ITC Infotech. ITC said on 31 Aug 2026 that the combined business targets US$1 billion revenue by FY28.

  Status: Early, too early to judge.

Status compares progress with what the company itself said it would do: Working = on track against what the company said; Mixed = partly on track; Behind = behind the company's own plan; New = recently announced; Early = too early to judge.

Source: Media statement and results presentation, Q1 FY27; Report and Accounts 2026 (FY26), incl. standalone and consolidated financial statements and BRSR; XBRL consolidated results (integrated filing), Q1 FY27 and 5 more

EBITDA = profit before interest, tax and wear-and-tear of assets. Financial year runs April to March (March year end). Net profit is the share belonging to the company's owners.

• Borrowings rose from ₹91 crore a year earlier to ₹2,186 crore, mostly short-term. The filings checked do not say which group company borrowed or why.
• Lease liabilities (rent owed under leases) were a further ₹213 crore.
• Cash and short-term investments = cash, other bank balances and current investments. ITC also held ₹12,090 crore of longer-term investments.
• Net worth fell in FY25 because the hotels business was handed to shareholders through the demerger.
• Contingent liabilities (claims against the group that it disputes) were ₹1,236 crore, mostly indirect-tax claims.

Source: Report and Accounts 2026 (FY26), incl. standalone and consolidated financial statements and BRSR

Source: Shareholding pattern, Q2 FY27 (as of 30 Sep 2026), XBRL; Shareholding pattern, Q1 FY27 (as of 30 Jun 2026), XBRL; Shareholding pattern, Q4 FY26 (as of 31 Mar 2026), XBRL and 9 more

• Sanjiv Puri

  Chairman & Managing Director

• S. Dutta

  Executive Director & Chief Financial Officer

• B. Sumant

  Executive Director

• H. Malik

  Executive Director

• R. K. Singhi

  Company Secretary

Source: Report and Accounts 2026 (FY26), incl. standalone and consolidated financial statements and BRSR; Acquisition of the Pulp and Paper Undertaking (Century Pulp & Paper) of Aditya Birla Real Estate Ltd: business transfer agreement; Acquisition of Century Pulp & Paper: Competition Commission of India approval (update) and 6 more

Auditor

S R B C & Co LLP

Auditor changes

None in the period covered

Audit qualifications

None reported

Related-party dealings

ITC's largest related-party dealings in FY26 were with BAT group companies. ITC sold ₹2,327 crore of goods and services to two of them and paid ₹404 crore to three for assets. ITC says all related-party transactions were at arm's length, in the ordinary course of business.

Credit rating

Crisil AAA (long term), A1+ (short term) (Stable), 24 Apr 2026

A credit rating describes the company's ability to repay debt. It is not a rating of the share.

Source: Re-appointment of S R B C & Co LLP as statutory auditors for five years; Report and Accounts 2026 (FY26), incl. standalone and consolidated financial statements and BRSR; Crisil Ratings rating rationale: Crisil AAA/Stable / Crisil A1+ reaffirmed; bank facilities enhanced to Rs 5,250 cr and 4 more

• Regulation

  Higher cigarette taxes

  The government raised GST and excise duty on cigarettes from 1 Feb 2026. In Q1 FY27 cigarette segment profit fell 31.5% to ₹3,769 crore. ITC said its standalone cigarette revenue net of taxes fell 25%.

  Watch Cigarette segment profit each quarter (₹3,769 crore in Q1 FY27).

• Concentration

  Profit depends on cigarettes

  Cigarettes earned 82.2% of ITC's segment profit in FY26, up from 79.8% in FY24. The other businesses kept between ₹7.4 and ₹13.3 of every ₹100 of segment revenue as profit.

  Watch Cigarettes' share of segment profit in the FY27 annual report.

• Competition

  Illegal cigarettes

  ITC says, citing Euromonitor, that India is the fourth-largest illicit cigarette market. ITC estimates illegal trade at about one-third of the legal industry.

  Watch ITC's comments on illicit trade in each media statement after the tax rise.

• Raw-material prices

  Thin margins and rising costs in foods

  FMCG-Others kept ₹7.4 of every ₹100 of segment revenue as profit in FY26. In Q1 FY27 ITC said the West Asia conflict raised fuel, edible oil and packaging costs.

  Watch FMCG-Others segment profit margin each quarter.

• Pricing

  Paper profits under pressure

  Paper segment profit fell from ₹2,294 crore in FY23 to ₹754 crore in FY26. ITC said a minimum import price from 22 Aug 2025 gave only partial relief from cheap imports.

  Watch Paper segment profit, now including the Century mill from Q2 FY27.

• Execution

  Several acquisitions at once

  ITC completed Century Pulp & Paper (up to ₹3,500 crore) and raised Sproutlife to 100% (about ₹645 crore) in 2026. The Happiest Minds deal still needs regulator and court approval.

  Watch Approvals for the Happiest Minds deal and profit from the acquired businesses.

• Cash and liquidity

  Dividends above free cash flow

  ITC paid ₹18,271 crore of dividends in FY26, more than its free cash flow of ₹16,281 crore. Short-term borrowings rose to ₹2,126 crore.

  Watch Dividends paid against free cash flow in FY27.

• Demand

  Farm trade disruptions

  Agri segment revenue fell 16.3% in Q1 FY27. ITC cited West Asia trade disruptions and weaker leaf tobacco demand in India and abroad.

  Watch Agri segment revenue and profit each quarter.

Source: Audited standalone and consolidated financial results, Q4 FY26 and FY26 (year ended 31 Mar 2026); Unaudited standalone and consolidated financial results, Q1 FY27 (quarter ended 30 Jun 2026); XBRL consolidated results (integrated filing), Q1 FY27 and 8 more

Source: Media statement and results presentation, Q1 FY27; ITC Infotech acquires 100% of Blazeclan Technologies Pvt Ltd; Demerger of the Hotels business: NCLT order and appointed/effective date 1 Jan 2025 and 11 more

What does ITC do?

ITC Limited, based in Kolkata, makes and sells cigarettes, packaged foods, personal care products and stationery. ITC also trades farm produce and makes paperboard and packaging. ITC's FY26 revenue from operations was ₹89,913 crore.

How does ITC make money?

ITC makes most of its profit from cigarettes. In FY26 cigarettes were 45.5% of ITC's revenue from outside customers but earned 82.2% of its segment profit: ₹22,246 crore of ₹27,066 crore.

Who are ITC's customers?

ITC's products reach nearly 70 lakh outlets in India, according to its FY26 annual report. No single customer gave ITC 10% or more of FY26 revenue. In FY26, 17.2% of ITC's revenue came from outside India.

How big is ITC?

In FY26 ITC's consolidated revenue from operations was ₹89,913 crore, or ₹78,868 crore after excise duty. ITC's FY26 profit for shareholders was ₹20,689 crore. ITC had 22,481 employees on 31 Mar 2026.

Who owns ITC?

ITC has no promoter. On 30 Sep 2026 the BAT group held 22.91% of ITC through three companies. Indian institutions held 49.82% of ITC, including LIC with 16.46%. Other foreign investors held 10.31%, and individuals and others 16.96%.

Why was ITC's FY26 profit lower than FY25?

ITC's FY26 profit of ₹20,689 crore was 40.5% below FY25's ₹34,747 crore. FY25 included ₹15,016 crore of one-off profit from demerging the hotels business. Against FY25 profit from the continuing business (₹19,731 crore), ITC's FY26 profit rose 4.9%.

Does ITC still own hotels?

ITC moved its hotels business, except ITC Grand Central in Mumbai, into ITC Hotels Ltd from 1 Jan 2025. ITC owned 39.85% of ITC Hotels on 31 Mar 2026.

Does ITC have debt?

On 31 Mar 2026 ITC had ₹2,186 crore of borrowings and ₹23,759 crore in cash, bank balances and short-term investments. Crisil rated ITC AAA with a stable outlook on 24 Apr 2026.

What dividend did ITC pay for FY26?

ITC declared a dividend of ₹14.50 per share for FY26: ₹6.50 interim and ₹8.00 final. That was 87.8% of ITC's FY26 basic earnings per share of ₹16.52.

Source: Report and Accounts 2026 (FY26), incl. standalone and consolidated financial statements and BRSR; Shareholding pattern, Q2 FY27 (as of 30 Sep 2026), XBRL; Demerger of the Hotels business: NCLT order and appointed/effective date 1 Jan 2025 and 2 more

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