Total remuneration of ITC Ltd. Chairman and Managing Director Sanjiv Puri remained almost flat at ₹25.66 crore in the last financial year (FY) compared to FY 2023-24, when his remuneration had grown around 54 per cent year-on-year.

Puri’s total remuneration from the diversified conglomerate in FY24 was ₹25.18 core.

The Chairman drew a basic salary of ₹3.54 crore in FY25 compared to ₹3.12 crore in FY24, while his perquisites and other benefits, performance bonus and commission stood at ₹73.46 lakh and ₹21.39 crore, respectively, in FY25 compared to ₹57.70 lakh and ₹21.48 crore in FY24, according to ITC Ltd. annual report for the financial year that ended March 31, 2025.

Median remuneration of staff up 7%

In the annual report, which was released on Friday, ITC informed that Puri’s total remuneration was 377 times higher than the median remuneration of all the employees in the last financial year. The number of permanent employees of the Kolkata-headquartered company was 22,041 as on March 31, 2025.

Interestingly, remuneration of key managerial personnel (KMPs) decreased by 11 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) in the last financial year, while the median remuneration of employees increased by 7 per cent. Average remuneration of employees grew 5 per cent y-o-y in FY25.

ITC Ltd’s operating profit margin was at 35.4 per cent for the financial year 2024-25, as against 38 per cent for FY 2023-24. Net profit margin stood at 26.7 per cent for FY25, while it was 29.4 per cent for FY24. The cigarette-to-soap maker said key financial ratios for the last financial year have been computed based on numbers for continuing operations pursuant to the demerger of the hotels business undertaking. Accordingly, the ratios for FY24 are not strictly comparable.

Notably, ITC had fixed the effective date for the demerger of its hotels business on January 1, 2025. Following the demerger, shares of the hospitality company were listed on the bourses on January 29.

Cost of raw materials

In its annual report, the country’s largest cigarette maker said the last financial year continued to witness a steep increase in the prices of leaf tobacco, which was partly mitigated through a combination of product mix enrichment, strategic cost management and judicious pricing actions.

“During the current crop year, global supply chains are normalising, leading to moderation in leaf tobacco prices after a sharp increase over the last couple of years,” it said, adding that the cigarette business has also strengthened its presence in focus markets with the launch of several differentiated offerings across segments.

On the non-cigarette FMCG business the company said the segment delivered a resilient performance amidst subdued demand conditions and significant increase in competitive intensity from local and regional players.

“Costs of several major inputs such as edible oil, wheat, maida (white flour), potato and cocoa witnessed sharp escalation, especially in the second-half of the financial year, weighing on margins. The inflationary pressures were partially mitigated through focused cost management, portfolio premiumisation, supply chain agility, digital interventions and calibrated pricing actions,” ITC added.

Published on June 27, 2025