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Category: Business & Finance

  • ITC Posts 32% Increase in Cigarette Revenue

    ITC Posts 32% Increase in Cigarette Revenue

    ITC Limited reported a marginal rise in quarterly adjusted profit as pricing gains in its cigarette business helped offset the impact of higher excise duties and rising input costs. Profit before exceptional items and tax increased 4.3% year-on-year to 66.9 billion rupees ($669.2 million), while total revenue rose 17% to 217 billion rupees ($2.2 billion). Cigarette revenue, which remains the company’s primary earnings driver, climbed about 32% to 110.66 billion rupees ($1.1 billion), supported by price increases across key brands and a shift in product mix.

    The company said profitability was pressured by India’s excise duty hike on cigarettes and higher raw material costs, including edible oil, soap noodles, and packaging inputs, which rose due to supply chain disruptions and geopolitical tensions linked to the Middle East. Analysts noted that price hikes of 20%–40% across major cigarette brands were not sufficient to fully offset the tax increase, suggesting continued near-term margin pressure despite resilient demand.

    Performance across other segments was mixed, with the consumer goods division posting 15% revenue growth and an improvement in EBITDA margin to 11%, while the agri-business segment declined about 16% amid global trade disruptions affecting commodities such as rice, coffee, and leaf tobacco.

  • PMI Announces Andolina as Next CFO

    PMI Announces Andolina as Next CFO

    Philip Morris International appointed Massimo Andolina as its new Group Chief Financial Officer, effective August 1, succeeding Emmanuel Babeau, who will remain with the company as Strategic Advisor to CEO Jacek Olczak until March 2027 to support the transition. Andolina, currently president of PMI’s Europe Region, has been credited with driving strong smoke-free growth and financial performance across the company’s largest region, while previously leading global operations and transformation initiatives that improved efficiency and supply-chain resilience.

    Olczak described Andolina as a respected leader with deep company knowledge and a strong record in innovation and growth. PMI also praised Babeau’s six-year tenure, during which the company strengthened its smoke-free business, completed the acquisition of Swedish Match in 2022, and increased smoke-free products’ share of net revenues to 43% in Q1 2026.

  • Scandinavian Reports Steady Progress in Seasonally Low Quarter

    Scandinavian Reports Steady Progress in Seasonally Low Quarter

    Scandinavian Tobacco Group A/S reported a steady start to 2026 with its Q1 interim results, marking the first quarter under its new five-year strategy, Focus2030. Management emphasized early execution on priorities, including stabilizing earnings in machine-rolled cigars and smoking tobacco, revitalizing the handmade cigar segment, and expanding nicotine pouches. CEO Niels Frederiksen highlighted that while the quarter is seasonally weak, the company is laying the groundwork for longer-term growth and sustained shareholder value.

    Net sales for the quarter were DKK 1.859 billion ($297 million), down 6% year-on-year, though the decline narrowed to -0.6% in constant currencies, with timing effects and a -5.2% foreign exchange impact weighing on reported figures. Performance was mixed across categories: machine-rolled cigars showed stabilization supported by power brands in Europe, handmade cigars delivered 8% organic growth, and the XQS nicotine pouch brand continued strong momentum with more than 13% market share in Sweden. Profitability remained broadly stable, with EBITDA before special items rising slightly to 17.2% margin and EBIT margin holding at 10.4%, despite a small negative impact from amortization changes.

    Cash generation was solid for the first quarter, with free cash flow before acquisitions of DKK 158 million ($25.3 million), broadly in line with last year despite working capital timing differences. Adjusted earnings per share declined to DKK 1.1 ($0.176), while return on invested capital fell to 7.8% and leverage increased to 3.0x net debt/EBITDA. The company maintained its full-year 2026 guidance, expecting constant-currency net sales growth of -2% to +2%, EBIT margin of 13.0%–14.5%, and free cash flow of DKK 950–1,200 million ($152–192 million), signaling confidence in its ongoing strategic transition.

  • Universal Ups Dividend, Sets Annual Meeting for Aug. 4

    Universal Ups Dividend, Sets Annual Meeting for Aug. 4

    Universal Corporation announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.83 per share, payable on August 3, to shareholders on record as of July 13. The increase raises the annualized dividend to $3.32 per share and implies a dividend yield of approximately 6.1% based on the company’s May 18 closing share price of $54.46. The move extends Universal’s track record of annual dividend growth to 56 consecutive years, underscoring its focus on shareholder returns and stable cash generation.

    Chairman, president, and CEO Preston D. Wigner said the dividend increase reflects the strength of the company’s business strategy, operational consistency, and long-term customer relationships across its global agriproducts platform. Management emphasized that predictable dividend growth remains a core part of Universal’s shareholder value proposition, supported by diversified sourcing, integrated processing capabilities, and a broad international supply chain network spanning more than 30 countries.

    The company also confirmed that its 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders will take place on August 4 at its headquarters, with a record date of June 4.

  • JT Receives Dividend from Subsidiary

    JT Receives Dividend from Subsidiary

    Japan Tobacco Inc. announced that its consolidated subsidiary, JT International Holding B.V., approved a surplus dividend distribution of JPY 74.4 billion ($470 million) at a board meeting held on May 18, with payment expected on May 20. The dividend will be recorded as non-operating income in JT’s standalone financial statements for fiscal 2026; however, because the payment originates from a consolidated subsidiary, the company stated that it will not have a material impact on JT’s consolidated financial results for the year.

  • BATB Sales Choked by Taxes, Illicits

    BATB Sales Choked by Taxes, Illicits

    British American Tobacco Bangladesh reported a sharp downturn in first-quarter FY2025-26 performance as higher tobacco taxes, consumer downtrading, and rising competition from illicit cigarettes weighed heavily on sales. Domestic cigarette volumes fell 14% year-on-year, dragging gross revenue down 10.7% and net revenue down 21% as the effective tax burden climbed to 84.1%.

    Industry estimates suggest illicit cigarettes now capture up to 18% of the market, intensifying pressure on compliant manufacturers. While gross margin improved to 56% on lower cost of sales, operating expenses surged more than 40%, and operating cash outflow widened amid rising inventories and higher short-term borrowing. Non-core revenue streams offered little support, with cigarette exports remaining at zero for a third straight quarter and leaf export volumes falling sharply.

  • Cabbacis Talking Future at Sidoti Micro-Cap

    Cabbacis Talking Future at Sidoti Micro-Cap

    Cabbacis announced that its CEO, Joseph Pandolfino, will present at the upcoming Sidoti Micro-Cap Virtual Conference, where he is scheduled to host virtual one-on-one meetings with institutional investors and deliver a live 30-minute webcast presentation on May 21 beginning at 10 a.m. ET. The appearance highlights investor interest in Cabbacis’ patented iBLEND risk-reduction tobacco products as the company advances development under its federally licensed manufacturing platform.

  • Foreign Investors Increase Stakes as KT&G Posts Record Sales

    Foreign Investors Increase Stakes as KT&G Posts Record Sales

    KT&G is attracting renewed global investor interest after reporting record first-quarter overseas tobacco sales and continued strength in shareholder returns, according to The Korea Times. Earlier this month, Capital Group acquired a 5.61% stake in the company through its subsidiary, following a similar move in January by BlackRock, which built a position of more than 5%. Foreign investors have posted net purchases of KT&G shares for 22 consecutive trading days since April 9, lifting foreign ownership by nearly one percentage point, as investors increasingly view the stock as a value play supported by solid fundamentals and dividend policy rather than Korea’s semiconductor-heavy market trends.

    KT&G’s share price climbed from the ₩140,000 ($92.40) range in January to around ₩180,000 ($118.80), supported by first-quarter sales of ₩1.7 trillion ($1.1 billion) and operating profit of ₩365 billion ($241 million), up 14.3% and 27.6% year-on-year, respectively. Overseas tobacco sales reached a record ₩560 billion ($370 million), with operating profit from global operations rising 56.1%. Having already met its ₩3.7 trillion ($2.4 billion) shareholder return target for 2024–2027, KT&G plans to announce a new return policy later this year and has pledged to cancel all treasury shares following revisions to Korea’s Commercial Act, moves that analysts say are reinforcing its appeal among long-term institutional investors.

  • BAT Launching Digital and Technology Hub in India

    BAT Launching Digital and Technology Hub in India

    British American Tobacco announced plans to open a new information, digital, and technology (IDT) hub in Fraser Town, Bengaluru, India, as part of efforts to strengthen its global technology footprint and accelerate its transformation into a more agile, data-driven business. The hub will house BAT’s newly created Future Capabilities Centre (FCC), designed to consolidate key digital, data, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and platform capabilities in one location to drive innovation and operational efficiency across the group.

    The FCC will create a range of highly skilled roles and tap into Bengaluru’s technology ecosystem to support BAT’s global operations through advanced digital solutions and strategic partnerships. According to Javed Iqbal, BAT’s Interim Chief Financial Officer and Director for Digital and Information, the center will play a critical role in scaling innovation and embedding technology at the core of the company’s operations as it adapts to a rapidly evolving business environment.

  • Bosnia, Industry Cracking Down on €500M Tobacco Black Market

    Bosnia, Industry Cracking Down on €500M Tobacco Black Market

    Authorities and industry representatives in Bosnia and Herzegovina say the illegal tobacco trade is costing the country more than €500 million annually, as cigarettes without excise stamps and cross-border smuggling continue to undermine the legal market and public revenues. Officials from the Indirect Taxation Administration of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Finance Ministry stressed that coordinated enforcement, stable excise policy, and cooperation with manufacturers such as British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco International helped reverse a sharp market collapse seen around 2019–2020, when legal cigarette volumes fell from 12 billion to 3.5 billion sticks annually.

    Authorities say improved policy alignment and citizen reporting through the “Stop Smuggling” campaign have since supported revenue recovery, while warning that the shadow market still distorts competition, drains budgets that fund public services, and complicates efforts to align with European regulatory standards.