Global powerhouse

KT&G Corp. reported record overseas sales last year, according to The Pulse.
The company’s overseas sales reached KRW1.05 trillion in 2017, up 57 percent from KRW941.4 billion in 2016. It sold 55.4 billion cigarettes worldwide, up 13.8 percent from 48.7 billion cigarettes in 2016.
The strong recent sales were driven primarily by KT&G’s Esse and Pine brands in Russia and the Middle East. The company has also recently released new products tailored to consumers in Africa and Latin America, which are expected to help the company’s overseas sales increase further.
The company nevertheless reported that operating profit for the fourth quarter ended December fell 26.9 percent to KRW222.5 billion on a consolidated basis from the same period a year ago. Sales dropped 5.1 percent to KRW1.05 trillion while net profit declined 14.5 percent to KRW346.4 billion.
The company attributed its disappointing earnings to a fall in sales in the domestic market and foreign exchange losses caused by the appreciated value of the Korean won against the U.S. dollar.
The Korean won climbed almost 13 percent against the dollar last year.
With sales in more than 50 countries and factories in Russia, Turkey and Indonesia, KT&G is now the world’s fifth largest tobacco maker.
By comparison, the company sold just 2.6 billion cigarettes in 1999.