ITC Limited is one of the oldest and largest conglomerates in India, and it is best known for its tobacco business. Over the decades, ITC has diversified its business from tobacco to many other areas like fast-moving consumer goods, agribusiness, paperboards, packaging, hotels, information technology, and much more.
After the diversification, ITC has multiple source of revenue which not only reduces risk, but also help in focus on markets with higher revenue. This company has strong brands, large distribution networks, and economies of scale. Apart from owning businesses, ITC also invests in sourcing, supply chains, brand building, and sustainability. Recently, ITC demerged its hotels business, listing ITC Hotels separately. Despite economic headwinds like inflation and input cost rises, ITC has shown resilient revenue growth. Its profit numbers were helped by a one-time gain from their hotel demerger.
Here, we will learn about the ITC business model, how they make money, in what sectors they have invested, and their revenue streams. Let’s get started –
How is the ITC Business Model Structured?
ITC’s business model is structured in multiple segments and it is mostly diversified. Even with the number of businesses, Cigarettes and Tobacco remain the core business, which has generated strong margins and profits. After tobacco, ITC is also in FMCG products like snacks, personal care, staples, and more.
These businesses are growth-oriented where paperboards, paper, and packaging are also key source to ITC. Another dimension is the value chain integration. For example, in cigarettes and FMCG, ITC sources raw material from its agribusiness operations or through long-term contracts. Its paperboards & packaging division often supports other segments (packaging for FMCG, etc.).
| Company/Brand | ITC limited |
| Establishment Year | 1910 (as Imperial Tobacco Company of India) |
| Headquarters | Kolkata, West Bengal, India |
| Founder/Owner | Originally under British ownership, now an Indian company, promoter, and public shareholders. Current leadership under Chairman & MD / CEO Sanjiv Puri, etc. |
| Industry | Conglomerate: Tobacco / Cigarettes; FMCG; Agribusiness; Paperboards, Paper & Packaging; Hotels (demerged); others |
| Net Worth (2025) | Market Cap ~ ₹ 5.10 trillion |
| Total Revenue 2025 | FY25 ~ ₹ 81,612.78 crore |
How Does ITC Make Money?
As ITC is a conglomerate, many sources are hard to fit into this blog post. However, let’s look at five major sources of revenue for ITC.
Cigarettes and Tobacco Products
A product that not only offers a high margin, but also is easy to sell in a country with billions of people is tobacco. Tobacco products are the largest profit contributor to ITC, and it is easy for ITC to sustain in this industry. Regulatory barriers, taxes, and brand loyalty is the major reason that other brands have hard time getting into this industry and ITC will keep enjoying high margins until then.
FMCG Products
For growth and diversification, ITC has reduced its dependency on cigarettes to other products like the FMCG sector. ITC sells snacks, biscuits, noodles, personal care products, staples, hygiene, and much more. In this sector, ITC had a hard time making space, but due to capital power, it became easy for them to expand and use their distribution network to their advantage.
Paperboards, Paper & Packaging
This segment of ITC makes money by supplying packaging materials to FMCG and other industries. As demand for consumer goods rises, so does the need for packaging. Also, demand from e-commerce. ITC’s paperboards & specialty papers are used for premium packaging, which can command higher prices.
Agri-Business
ITC is also in Agri-Business where they source raw materials like lead tobacco, support farmers, procure, process and export. By exporting agricultural commodities and value-added agri products, ITC can diversify its income sources. This method also helps in reducing supply chain costs since it ensures the availability of raw materials.
Hotels
Even though ITC has demerged Hotels and accommodations from its portfolio, they have made huge revenue from this business stream as well. Earlier, ITC had premium and luxury hotels which allowed income from room charges, food & beverages, events, and a lot more. Now, their hotel chain is a separate entity as they have demerged it and made it an independent business.
Financial Performances
In FY25, ITC has reported consolidated revenue from operations of around ₹ 81,612.78 crore, and this number is about 10.4% higher than FY24. The net profit from continuing operations was about ₹ 20,036.47 crore in FY25. On the other hand, ITC is placing more emphasis on its FMCG “others” segment to build future growth. Innovation in product lines, expanding distribution, premiumisation, and marketing investments are growing.
What’s New in 2025?
The big change in 2025 was the demerger of the hotels business. As of 1 January 2025, ITC Hotels is a separately listed company. This resulted in a large one-time exceptional gain for ITC Ltd. It lets ITC focus more on its core businesses (cigarettes, FMCG, agri, packaging).
