ITC briefly beats HUL to become most valued FMCG company amid hotel business demerger buzz

ITC has become the sixth listed company in India to have surpassed the significant 6 lakh crore market capitalisation.

The cigarette-to-hotel conglomerate ITC Ltd briefly surpassed the market capitalisation of Hindustan Unilever Ltd in intraday trade on Friday to emerge as the most valued company in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) segment.  

The market cap of ITC rose to Rs 6.15 lakh crore on Friday, surpassing the valuation of Hindustan Unilever in the session.

Besides, ITC’s shares hit a fresh 52-week high of Rs 497.55 per piece on the BSE in Friday's trading session, however, the stock pared its gains later in the session, as the domestic benchmark indices Nifty50 and Sensex tanked over 1 per cent each.

ITC’s market cap reached 6.15 lakh crore during the intra-day trade on Friday making it the largest company in the FMCG sector beating HUL.

ITC’s stock closed 0.47 per cent lower at Rs 489.85 per piece on BSE with a market capitalisation of Rs 6.1 lakh crore, which is lower than the Rs 6.11 lakh crore of HUL.

ITC crosses 6 Lakh crore Market Cap for the first time

The FMCG giant crossed the 6 lakh crore market capitalisation for the first time on Thursday as the stock extended its rally for the third straight day.  The stock closed with a gain of 2.78 per cent at Rs 492.15 per share on Thursday.

ITC has become the sixth listed company in India to have surpassed the significant 6 lakh crore market capitalisation. However, it still remains the second-largest FMCG company behind HUL.

Share price heading for Rs 500 level

At current levels, it's only a matter of time before the stock touches the crucial Rs 500 level. So far in 2023, the stock has gained nearly 48 per cent. In the last 12 months, the FMCG stock has surged 63 per cent and more than 150 per cent in the last three years.

Way forward amid ITC’s hotel business demerger buzz

As per the research conducted by Zee Business, cigarette businesses in India are currently experiencing stringent regulations which impact ITC’s overall business. However, the conglomerate has produced a better-than-expected recovery in its cigarette business.

Further, Zee Business’ research shows that strong growth in other businesses is beneficial for the company, and improvement in environmental, social and governance (ESG) scores is expected to lure big investors.

Besides, another major factor contributing to ITC’s upward share price movement is the buzz going on around the conglomerate’s hotel business demerger.

It is expected that the company could announce the demerger of its hotel business by next month as ITC looks towards unlocking value, and experts are of the view that the demerger proposal could be out before the company’s annual general meeting (AGM) set to be conducted on August 12, 2023.