ITC To Consider Interim Dividend On 11 February; Stock Hits 52-Week High

On Friday, ITC Ltd said in a stock exchange filing that its board will meet on 11 February to consider a declaration of interim dividend.

"The Board of Directors of the Company at the meeting convened for Thursday, 11th February, 2021, will consider declaration of Interim Dividend for the financial year ending on 31st March, 2021," ITC said in a statement to exchanges.

Shares of the company rose 3.5% to touch a new 52-week high of Rs 238.80 after the announcement.

The stock has been gaining post the Union Budget presentation on 1 February, where no recommendation of any change in cigarette excise (NCCD-National Calamity Contingent Duty) was made, much to the relief of investors. Last year, the tax hike was quite steep at around 13%.

"No change in cigarette taxation is a positive for ITC. The focus will now shift to volume growth recovery and future GST council meets," said analysts from Jefferies India Pvt. Ltd in its report on 1 February.

"In the past when there have been no tax hikes on cigarettes, ITC's cigarette volumes have grown. The last such period was from 2Q FY19 to 3Q FY20, where on a YoY basis there were no cigarette tax hikes. In this period, ITC was able to deliver low-to-mid single digit volume growth, despite a very weak macro environment for consumption in that period where FMCG industry's growth was mid-single digits," said analysts from Credit Suisse Securities (India) Pvt. Ltd in their report post the Budget.