Vnn,m,m,,kBskskkssssssssssssssssssssmnlllm kkkhjkkldddddsssssssssssssssvghnmThe variousSBUs of ITC limited can be assumed to be taken in the context of theBCG matrix,then the agro business, hotelsand paperboards and packaging comes under the star categorywhere they are the units with a high market share in a fast-growing industry. The hope isthat theseStars become the next cash cows.The FMCG and cigarettes industry are the units with high market share. These units typicallygenerate cash in excess of the amount of cash needed to maintain the business.They are to be"milked" continuously with as little investment as possible, since such investment would be wasted in anindustry with low growth.The ITC InfoTech comes under the dogs category, or more charitably calledpets, are units withlow market share in amature, slow-growing industry. These units typically "break even",generating barely enough cash to maintain the business's market share.

The FMCG etc are theSBUs that come under Question marks (also known as problem child) aregrowing rapidly and thus consume large amounts of cash, but because they have low marketshares they do not generate much cash. The result is large net cash consumption. A questionmark has the potential to gain market share and become a star, and eventually a cash cowwhen the market growth slows.