Markets continue to remain in the positive zone mainly on the back of buying seen in metal and fmcg shares. However, the upside is capped due to index heavyweights such as Infosys.

At 10:50 am, the Sensex was at 25,849 levels, up by 90 points while the Nifty opened at 7,832 levels, up by 26 points.

It is tempting to conclude that ITC Ltd is caught in a bad situation. Its cigarettes business is barely growing, its fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) business is no longer the growth driver it used to be, and a weak business environment has hit its paper business. Even agricultural commodity trading revenues have declined because of weak trading conditions. The hotels division has done relatively better in recent quarters, but is not a significant contributor to revenue.

ITC on Friday reported a decline in revenue and almost flat growth in net profit for the September quarter, with a drop in cigarette volume sales and slow consumer demand in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector.

Analysts said there was a 16 per cent decline in cigarette volumes, in keeping with the trend in the earlier two quarters. Net profit rose 0.2 per cent to Rs 2,431 crore versus Rs 2,425 crore in the same quarter last year. Revenue fell 1.4 per cent to Rs 8,904 crore, compared to Rs 9,024 crore last year.

Cigartte-to-hotel-FMCG major ITC's July-September quarter earnings missed analysts' expectations on Friday with profit rising to Rs 2,431 crore from Rs 2,425 crore in year-ago period, impacted by slow revenue growth in cigarette business.

Weak revenue growth in agri-business, hotels and paper business also hurt bottomline. Strong margin expansion and other income helped profit rise marginally.

Indian stocks climbed for the first time this week, with the benchmark gauge set for its biggest monthly advance since May, as investors awaited quarterly results of some of the nation’s biggest companies including ICICI Bank Ltd and ITC Ltd.

Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd, the third-biggest drugmaker by market value, rallied to a record after its profit beat estimates. NTPC Ltd, the top power producer, surged the most since May last year. ITC, the largest cigarette company, fell for a fifth day, set for the longest losing streak since August.

NEW DELHI: Some food processing companies now brand their products as 'adulterant free' and 'toxic metal free', and work with farmers to ensure quality raw material, to differentiate themselves amid increasing consumer awareness and safety concerns.

LT Foods that sells Dawat brand of rice, for example, will market its soon-to-be-launched atta (flour) brand as toxic metal free. "We will be launching our atta under the Devaaya brand. It will be branded as lead free and will resonate our company's philosophy of selling safe produce," said Vivek Chandra, chief executive officer for global branded business at LT Foods.

Shares of ITC are trading higher by 1% at Rs 333 on the BSE after the company decided to foray into the dairy segment with the launch of its new product Aashirvaad ghee this Diwali.

The company has plans to replicate the same success it achieved in the unorganised and commoditised atta segment with the Aashirvaad brand. Aashirvaad is a brand of staple food and kitchen ingredients owned by ITC and the range of products include Atta, Salt, Spices and Instant mixes.

KOLKATA: Aashirvaad ghee will make its debut this Diwali as ITC enters the dairy market, extending the product range of its biggest non-cigarette brand. The company is looking to replicate the success it achieved in the unorganised and commoditised atta segment with the Aashirvaad brand, under which it also sells spices and other food products.

New Delhi: On one of the world’s highest mountain passes where bikers gasp for breath stands an eatery that serves hot snacks to travellers.

At 17,590 ft, Chang La Cafeteria, named after the intimidating pass in Leh, has a limited menu: chocolates, tea, coffee and noodles.

India’s top industrial houses including Adani Group, HCL, MRF and ITC among others have pledged investments worth over Rs 30,000 crore in Tamil Nadu, on first day of the state’s first-ever Global Investor Meet (GIM) on Wednesday.

Leading the investments is Adani Group which would invest between Rs 10,000 and 15,000 crore in the state to set up power plants and ports. Gautam Adani, chairman of Adani Group said that Tamil Nadu offers tremendous potential and that the company is setting up a 650 MW solar plant, likely to be operational by March 2015. “We are now investing in port and non-renewable power projects (thermal),” he said.

Inviting Real Estate Agents, Job Placements Agents, Educational Institutes, Software Service Providers, Real Estate Builders, Marriage Bureaus, Travel Agents, Restaurant Owners, Health & Fitness Centers and other Local Businesses to Post a FREE Classified Advertisement on Cootera.com Classifieds Website.