Antique maintains a ‘Buy’ rating on ITC with a target price of ₹563, highlighting its resilience in the current challenging environment. ITC’s broad-based cigarette portfolio, premium FMCG offerings, buoyant hotels segment, and improving agri-business provide strong growth drivers.
The brokerage expects the cigarette segment to deliver volume and value growth of 3% and 6%, respectively, in Q3. ITC’s FMCG business is anticipated to outperform peers due to growth in branded wheat flour and its premium food and personal care portfolios. The agri-business is projected to report healthy revenue growth from exports of rice, leaf tobacco, and value-added spices, while the hotels segment is expected to continue delivering double-digit sales growth. However, challenges remain in the paper segment, which faces short-term pressure from Chinese imports and rising domestic wood prices.
