Shareholders of ITC Limited approved the re-appointment of Hemant Bhargava as a Director and Independent Director for a term of five years, effective December 20, 2026, at its 115th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on July 23, 2026. The resolution was passed under special business, reinforcing the Board’s governance structure with Bhargava’s extensive experience in financial services. This appointment coincides with the company’s declaration of a final dividend of ₹8.00 per ordinary share and confirmation of an interim dividend of ₹6.50 per share for FY26.

The AGM, attended by 673 members via video conferencing, also addressed ordinary business items including the adoption of standalone and consolidated financial statements for FY26. The Board sought approval for the remuneration of statutory and cost auditors for the financial year 2026-27. Messrs. S R B C & CO LLP were appointed as Statutory Auditors with remuneration not exceeding ₹4.40 crores. For cost audits, Messrs. ABK & Associates were appointed for 'Wood Pulp' and 'Paper and Paperboard' products with remuneration not exceeding ₹7 lakhs, while Messrs. S. Mahadevan & Co. were appointed for all other applicable products with remuneration not exceeding ₹7.90 lakhs.

Strategic Financial Highlights

Chairman and Managing Director Sanjiv Puri highlighted that Net Segment Revenue has grown at a CAGR of 10.7% to over ₹83,300 crore, while EBITDA grew at a CAGR of 9.7% over the last five years. Non-cigarette businesses now constitute nearly two-thirds of net segment revenue. The company announced a proposed medium-term capex of ₹20,000 crore for the Group, aimed at areas with multiplier impact, including the acquisition of Century Pulp & Paper which will raise capacity by over 50% to 1.5 million metric tonnes.

Board Appointments and Governance

In addition to Bhargava’s re-appointment, the meeting facilitated the re-election of retiring directors Sunil Panray and Siddhartha Mohanty. Mr. Bhargava, aged 67, holds a Post Graduate Degree in Economics from Lucknow University and a Masters in Financial Management from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies. He began his career in 1981 with the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) as its youngest Direct Recruit Officer, rising to become Chairman-in-charge and Managing Director in January 2019. He currently serves on the Boards of SMC Global Securities Limited, UGRO Capital Limited, and Wealth Company Asset Management Holdings Private Limited.

Voting Results

Voting was conducted via remote e-voting from July 19 to July 22, 2026. Institutional investors demonstrated overwhelming support for the dividend resolution, with 100% of polled votes in favor. Non-institutional public shareholders showed 98.93% support for the dividend. For the re-appointment of Mr. Hemant Bhargava, institutional shareholders voted with 94.15% support, while non-institutional shareholders voted with 98.40% support. All resolutions were passed in accordance with the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015.

ITC recorded a notable block trade on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), with the transaction valued at ₹56.08 crore. The deal involved approximately 20,02,612 shares, executed at a price of ₹280.05 per share, reflecting significant institutional-level participation in the counter.

Block Trade Details

The following table summarises the key parameters of the block trade:

Block trades are large-volume transactions typically executed by institutional investors and are reported separately from regular market activity. The trade in ITC on the NSE represents a sizeable single transaction, underscoring active interest in the stock at the prevailing price level.