Price hike may boost ITC’s share price

ITC has raised the prices of select cigarette brands, Classic and Gold Flake Kings, by up to ₹10/pack in the wake of the hike in excise duty on cigarettes in the Budget. In the Union Budget 2014-15, the Finance Minister had hiked the specific rates of excise duty on cigarettes in the range of 11-72 per cent. Shares of ITC, which has interests in FMCG, hotels, paperboards and packaging, tobacco products and information technology, will remain active on the back of the price rise.