ITC's FMCG foray has been an audacious one: Deveshwar

Cigarettes to hotels conglomerate ITC has "best chances of success" in its FMCG business, although the attempt to diversify into this area has been an "audacious" one, ITC chairman Y C Deveshwar has said. 

FMCG business is a greenfield diversification for the company and "it is audacious, not only ambitious. But it will happen, because we are not there to count our change quickly. We are there to give it all that we have got," Deveshwar told private broadcaster CNBC TV18 in an interview.     

"I think where we've the best chances of success is the FMCG ... But you have to be patient," he added.     

Deveshwar said that ITC as an institution would provide huge amounts of synergy to new, diversifying businesses.     

"But I am not impatient about it. I have got a sort of five to 10 years time ... Because then it will pay to the shareholders of this company for 200-300 years ... Brands are tough to build," he added.     

Giving an overall view of ITC's businesses, Deveshwar said, "We are expanding very fast. We have a budget of $2 billion for investment in hotels in the next few years. And our next greenfield expansion of our paper business would mean Rs 3,000-4,000 crore... We have crossed Rs 3,000 crore of our FMCG business..."

He said ITC continued to be the leader in the agri segment as well as businesses like cigarettes, paperboards and packaging.     

"In hotels, we are still not number one in terms of size, but in profitability we are number one," Deveshwar said, but cautioned against comparing ITC's diversified businesses with the cigarette business.