The cigarette maker, synonymous with the Marlboro brand, witnessed a strong rally along with other peers, including ITC and VST industries, after media reports indicated that the companies had raised prices to pass on the higher excise duty hike to consumers.
The report said that the move could arrest the EBIT (Earnings Before Interest and Taxes) decline to around 2%, compared with earlier estimates of 8–15%.
Godfrey Phillips India has raised the price of Marlboro Compact from Rs 9.5 per stick to Rs 11.5 per stick, according to a news report. ITC is likely to raise cigarette prices by 20–40% across brands, with fresh shipments expected to reach the market soon. Retailers are also selling existing inventory at higher prices.
These developments follow the government’s notification ending the GST compensation cess and rolling out a new tobacco tax regime on February 1, as reported by ETNow.
The stock is a market underperformer, down 27% in the past six months. The price erosion has reduced its 1-year gains to 9%, lower than Nifty’s 11% returns in the same period.
Its shares are currently trading below their 200-day simple moving average of Rs 2,901.2 while holding on to the 50-day average (SMA) of Rs 2,336, according to Trendlyne data.Also read: FirstCry operator Brainbees Solutions shares surge 13% after 4-day slide
The cigarette maker reported an 8.7% rise in its consolidated net profit to Rs 343.29 crore for the December quarter of FY26.
The company had posted a net profit of Rs 315.84 crore a year ago, according to a regulatory filing from Godfrey Phillips India, the flagship company of Modi Enterprises.
Its revenue from operations surged 15.68 per cent to Rs 2,189.93 crore during the December quarter of FY26. It was Rs 1,893.08 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.
The total expenses of Godfrey Phillips in the December quarter grew 18 per cent to Rs 1,843.96 crore.
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