ITC has dipped 9% to Rs 358 on National Stock Exchange (NSE) after the finance minister proposed to some changes in excise duty on cigarettes.

The stock has fallen nearly 13% from its record high of Rs 410 touched during intra-day trade today.

ITC has dipped 9% to Rs 358 on National Stock Exchange (NSE) after the finance minister proposed to some changes in excise duty on cigarettes.

The stock has fallen nearly 13% from its record high of Rs 410 touched during intra-day trade today.

ITC Hotels, India's second largest hotel chain, has emerged as the highest bidder for Goa-based Park Hyatt property, which was put on the block by IFCI. But the original owners allege the property is being sold at a throwaway price.

P L Suri-headed Blue Coast Hotels, the owner of the Goa property, said the hotel which was kept as a collateral against loan taken from IFCI has been put on the block by the state-owned finance company despite no mutual consent.

ITC is trading higher by nearly 1% at Rs 394, extending its an over 5% rally in past two days on NSE, after the company has acquired the trademarks for 'Savlon' and 'Shower To Shower' in India from Johnson & Johnson for an undisclosed amount.

The stock opened at Rs 386 and touched a record high of Rs 402 on NSE. The trading volumes on the counter almost doubled with a combined 7.37 million shares changed hands till 1250 hours on NSE and BSE.

ITC on Friday said it had entered into an agreement with health and pharmaceuticals major Johnson & Johnson to buy two of its brands — Savlon, a brand of antiseptic soaps and liquids, and Shower to Shower, a prickly heat powder.

The deal, signed between ITC, Johnson & Johnson Ltd India and Johnson & Johnson Pte Ltd Singapore, marks ITC’s first acquisition in the personal care segment. The move is part of the company’s strategy to diversify its non-cigarette fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) portfolio, which recorded revenue of Rs 8,100 crore in 2013-14.

FMCG major ITC has entered into an agreement with Johnson & Johnson to acquire its brands, ‘Savlon’ and ‘Shower To Shower’, in India.

This acquisition will be ITC’s first purchase in the personal care segment.

At a time when fast-moving consumer goods companies are warming up to the concept of online commerce, ITC, the cigarettes to FMCG major, is keeping faith with modern trade to achieve a target of Rs 100,000 crore annual revenue from its non-cigarette business over the next 15 years.

Its total revenue was Rs 3,320 crore in 2013-14. Of this, Rs 800 crore came from the non-cigarette business.

Missing Street expectations the tobacco-to-hospitality giant ITC reported a net profit growth of 10.4 per cent at Rs 2,635 crore in the December quarter against Rs 2,385 crore in the year-ago period.

The below-par performance was a consequence of slow growth in the cigarette business. Revenue in ITC's cigarette segment grew 0.6 per cent year-on-year to Rs 4,142 crore. Analysts said ITC's decision to increase prices of cigarettes after the excise duty on these was raised pulled down sales volume by 15 per cent year-on-year.

Succession planning at ITC appears to be gaining traction, with the latest reshuffle in portfolios of top executives. Executive directors Kurush Grant and P V Dhobale’s portfolios have been interchanged. Grant, who was heading the fast-moving consuming goods (FMCG) business, will now be overseeing paper, paperboards and packaging, along with finance and information technology. Executive director Nakul Anand, in addition to overseeing the hospitality, travel and tourism businesses, has taken over the responsibility of the lifestyle retailing business.

Benchmark shares indices extended losses in late morning trade as heavy selling by foreign funds weighed on market sentiment.

At 11:30AM, the 30-share Sensex was down 152 points at 26,835 and the 50-share Nifty was down 40 points at 8,087.

Inviting Real Estate Agents, Job Placements Agents, Educational Institutes, Software Service Providers, Real Estate Builders, Marriage Bureaus, Travel Agents, Restaurant Owners, Health & Fitness Centers and other Local Businesses to Post a FREE Classified Advertisement on Cootera.com Classifieds Website.