ITC chairman Sanjiv Puri's remuneration rises 52% to Rs 6.16 crore

Sanjiv took over as the company's leader in after the death of Y C Deveshwar, ITC's legendary chairman.

The total remuneration of Sanjiv Puri, ITC chairman and managing director, jumped 52 per cent to Rs 6.16 crore in 2018-19, said the company .

Puri, 56, took over as the company's leader in after the death of Y C Deveshwar, ITC's legendary chairman. 

According to ITC's Report and Accounts 2019 filed with the stock exchanges, Puri's remuneration includes a basic salary of Rs 1.44 crore, perks of Rs 40 lakh and performance bonus of Rs 4.32 crore. In 2017-18, Puri took home Rs 4.06 crore.

Deveshwar's remuneration in 2018-19 was Rs 16.62 crore. In 2017-18, it stood at Rs 29.85 crore.

ITC had split the role of executive chairman between chairman and chief executive officer in 2017, when Deveshwar moved into a non-executive role from executive chairman, Sanjiv Puri went on to become the chief executive officer. He was re-designated as the managing director in May 2018.

Puri, in a message to the shareholders, said that the focus would be to build international competitiveness in each business and it would be supported by appropriate investments not only to reinforce the pole position achieved in several segments but also to speedily attain leadership in the newer businesses. 

"While this will undoubtedly entail upfront investments and gestation costs in the short-term, particularly in the non-cigarette FMCG businesses, such investments will be a source of competitive advantage and create sustained value for stakeholders over the medium to long term as our brands garner larger scale and deepen their connect with consumers," Puri said in the report.

During 2018-19, ITC launched over 50 new FMCG products across categories such as foods, personal care, education and stationery products, agarbatti and matches. 

The non-cigarettes FMCG business for which the company has ambitious targets, today, represent an annual consumer spend of Rs 18,000 crore. The star performers in the portfolio were Aashirvaad and Sunfeast that are Rs 4,500 crore and Rs 3,800 crore brands, respectively. Bingo! is at Rs 2,500 crore and Classmate, YiPPee! at over Rs 1,000 crore each.

The segment EBIDTA for the year registered a growth of 51 per cent to Rs 688.25 crore from Rs 455.58 crore in 2017-18.