Category: Financial

22nd Century Reports Third-Quarter Results

Photo: MIND AND I
22nd Century Group reported net sales of $7.8 million in the third quarter of 2021, up 6.9 percent over those posted in the prior-year period. The increase was due to an increase in contract manufacturing sales.
Gross profit for the third quarter of 2021 improved by 24 percent to $449,000 compared to the prior year period, reflecting the seventh consecutive quarter of year-over-year improvement in gross profit. The improvement in gross margin was primarily the result of increased filtered cigar sales mix due to new customer contracts and price increases on the company’s contract manufactured cigarettes.
Operating loss for the third quarter of 2021 was $7.9 million, an increase of $3.4 million compared to the prior year period. This was primarily driven by an increase in selling, general and administrative expenses and was partially offset by higher gross profit and lower research and development spend in the third quarter of 2021.
Net loss in the third quarter of 2021 was $9.4 million, an increase of $5.1 million compared to the prior year period primarily due to an increase in noncash charges offset by benefits to other income and expenses. This compares to the third quarter of 2020 net loss of $4.2 million.
“I am proud of the tremendous progress we have made during 2021 as we complete the final step to MRTP [modified-risk tobacco product] authorization of our VLN reduced-nicotine tobacco cigarettes and begin to monetize our highly disruptive hemp/cannabis plant lines and IP [intellectual property],” said James A. Mish, CEO of 22nd Century Group, in a statement.
November 5, 2021
Universal Pleased With Six-Month Results

Photo: Taco Tuinstra
Universal Corp. reported net income of $25.87 million for the six months that ended on Sept. 30, up from $14.78 million in the first six months of 2020. Operating income was $40.42 million, compared with $24.88 million in the comparable period last year. Sales and other operating revenues came to $803.98 million, against $692.84 million in the 2020 period. Operating income from tobacco operations jumped 52 percent to $35.8 million.
George Freeman
“I am pleased with our results for the first six months of fiscal year 2022,” said George Freeman III, chairman, president and CEO of Universal Corp in a statement. “Our tobacco operations have continued to perform well, and our ingredients operations, which include our October 2020 acquisition of Silva International, Inc., are making solid contributions to our results.”
“In the six months ended Sept. 30, 2021, tobacco operations results improved on a favorable product mix consisting of a higher percentage of lamina tobacco and fewer carryover sales of lower margin tobaccos, compared to the same period in the prior fiscal year.
“In addition, our uncommitted inventory level of 11 percent of tobacco inventories at Sept. 30, 2021, was significantly below our uncommitted inventory level of 16 percent of tobacco inventories at Sept. 30, 2020. At the same time, we continue to have logistical challenges related to worldwide shipping availability stemming from the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
“To address these challenges, we are working closely with our customers to accelerate tobacco shipments in some origins where vessels and containers have been available while diligently managing slower tobacco shipments in origins with reduced container and vessel availability.”

November 4, 2021
SWM Adjusts Outlook Following Tough Quarter

Photo: SWM
Schweitzer-Mauduit International reported GAAP income of $12.2 million in the third quarter of 2021, down from $24.5 million in the third quarter of 2020. Adjusted income was $25.8 million, down 29 percent; Adjusted EBITDA declined 18 percent to $52.8 million. Net currency movements had a $1.8 million negative impact on operating profits.
“We are clearly operating in an unprecedented economic environment for the second year in a row,” said SWM CEO Jeff Kramer in a statement. “After delivering strong 2020 performance despite a global epidemic, we are now seeing robust demand across many of our end-markets. However, manufacturers around the world are now navigating widespread inflationary pressures and supply chain disruptions.
“Given the performance to-date and expected lingering fourth quarter pressures, we believe our 2021 Adjusted EPS will finish below our originally guided range. However, we are seeing early signs of relief from several challenges and fully expect our 2022 guidance, when issued in February, to reflect a strong operating profit rebound as we are well positioned for growth as conditions normalize throughout next year.”
November 4, 2021
PMI Invests in Growth Stage Companies

Photo: William W. Potter
Philip Morris International plans to dedicate a further $200 million to minority investments in early and growth-stage companies through PM Equity Partner (PMEP), PMI’s corporate venture capital arm. This allocation follows a 2016 commitment of $150 million that PMEP has since fully invested and is intended to support PMI’s smoke-free and beyond nicotine ambitions.
With this latest round of funding, PMI will leverage its strengths to help investee companies translate innovation into commercial success. Developed through PMI’s journey to replace cigarettes with smoke-free alternatives, the company’s best-in-class capabilities include advanced life science expertise, preclinical and clinical research, and aerosolization.
PMEP is focusing its investment activities on four distinct technology segments: life science innovations, such as inhaled therapeutics and computational research methodologies; industrial technologies like industrial robotics and automation, the internet of things and technology-based process optimization; product technologies, particularly those that relate to inhalation and aerosolization, chemical formulation and bio-authentication; and consumer engagement technologies, such as user identification and age authentication, innovative customer care and experience management.
“PMI’s scientific and technological leadership has enabled us to reinvent our company in our pursuit to ‘unsmoke’ the world,” said PMI Chief Financial Officer Emmanuel Babeau in a statement. “We are dedicating further funds to our venture capital arm at a moment when we are in an even stronger position to leverage our expertise to support the development and commercialization of cutting-edge technologies to the benefit of both PMI and investee companies.”
“PMEP is looking to invest in companies that can help PMI accelerate and further sophisticate our transformation while we support them through our industry-leading expertise to mature their technologies and businesses,” said Alexander Stoeckel, head of PMEP. “We see this exchange as a win-win for PMI, the companies we invest in and society.”
November 2, 2021
JT Group ups Forecast on Robust Nine Months

Masamichi Terabatake
(Photo: JT Group)
The JT Group reported year-to-date revenue of ¥1.77 trillion ($15.5 billion), up 10.9 percent over those in the first nine months of 2020. Adjusted operating profit at constant currency increased 21.9 percent to ¥538.1 billion. On a reported basis, adjusted operating profit increased 23 percent to ¥542.9 billion. The group’s operating profit was ¥480.7 billion, up 23.2 percent over last year’s period. Based on its performance, the JT Group increased its financial forecasts for the full year.
“The JT Group reported a robust year-to-date performance, driven by strong momentum across the tobacco businesses. Our volume performance continued to be strong, driven by market share increases and stable industry volumes from longer than expected travel restrictions,” said JT Group President and CEO Masamichi Terabatake in a statement.
“We revised our full year forecasts upward, reflecting the robust results delivered in the first nine months of 2021 and also favorable currency trends. Following the upward revisions of our forecast, we are pleased to inform our plan to raise our annual dividend guidance by ¥10 to ¥140 per share.
“In Japan, we have received very encouraging feedback from consumers on Ploom X. However, the global semi-conductor shortage is impacting production of heated tobacco devices, so for the remainder of the year, we will prioritize the device supply in the Japanese market where we have already launched Ploom X. We will continue to strive to secure share growth.
“In addition, with our one tobacco business new operating model from January 2022, we will further strengthen our business foundation as well as build a more agile and consumer-centric organization.”
October 29, 2021
Altria Reports Third Quarter Results

Photo: Casimiro
Altria Group reported net revenues of $6.79 billion in the third quarter of 2021, down 4.7 percent from the previous year’s third quarter. Revenue net of taxes was down 2.6 percent to $5.53 billion. Net revenues for the 2021 nine months were $19.76 billion (down 0.5 percent), while net revenue net of excise was up 1.5 percent to $16.03 billion.
“Altria continued to balance maximizing profitability from our core tobacco businesses with investing to realize our Vision of responsibly leading the transition of adult smokers to a smoke-free future,” said Altria CEO Billy Gifford. “Our tobacco businesses performed well against difficult year-over-year comparisons, and we’re encouraged by the significant retail share growth from On! in the third quarter.”
In the third quarter, Altria sold its Ste. Michelle Wine Estates business and received net cash proceeds of approximately $1.2 billion, which Altria used to partially fund its expanded share repurchase program.
Marlboro HeatSticks retail sales volume increased by more than 20 percent sequentially, primarily driven by broader distribution outside of established metro markets and increasing demand in the Northern Virginia metro market.
However, Altria’s plans to roll out Philip Morris International’s IQOS tobacco heating system in the United States suffered a setback when the International Trade Commission (ITC) banned imports of that product following a dispute between PMI and British American Tobacco’s Reynolds American. subsidiary over intellectual property.
In a press note, Altria said it disagrees with the ITC’s decision as it believes that the plaintiff’s patents are invalid and that IQOS does not infringe those patents. The ITC’s decision is currently under a 60-day review by the Biden Administration. If the decision is not rejected through the administration’s review, the ITC cease-and-desist order will take effect on Nov. 29, 2021, making all IQOS and Marlboro HeatSticks products unavailable in the U.S. marketplace.
Altria said its Philip Morris USA subsidiary is preparing contingency plans surrounding sales and distribution, and has been in communication with PMI regarding its domestic manufacturing plans.
October 28, 2021
Swedish Match Reports Record Sales

Photo: Swedish Match
Swedish Match released its interim report, showing record sales with year-on-year revenue growth across product segments, despite comparing to a prior year quarter with elevated demand for certain product lines.
In local currencies, sales increased by 10 percent for the third quarter. Reported sales increased by 9 percent to SEK4.79 billion ($556.8 million).
The company had record operating profit from product segments in spite of continued ramp-up in spending behind growth opportunities for smoke-free products. In local currencies, operating profit from product segments increased by 2 percent for the third quarter. Reported operating profit from product segments increased by 1 percent to SEK2.1 billion.
Operating profit amounted to SEK2.08 billion for the third quarter. Profit after tax for the third quarter amounted to SEK1.54 billion. Profit after tax for the third quarter of the prior year included a charge of SEK286 million following an adverse ruling in a tax case.
On Sept. 14, Swedish Match announced its intention to spin off its U.S. cigar business to shareholders. Subject to various conditions, the separation is expected to be completed during the second half of 2022 at the earliest.
“I am pleased to report that Swedish Match in the third quarter continued to deliver double-digit revenue growth in local currencies along with improved operating profit compared to the third quarter of the prior year,” said Swedish Match CEO Lars Dahlgren.
“With continued ramp-up in marketing related activities to support brand building and long-term growth, as well as the elevated demand (brought on by the pandemic) for several product lines in the prior year period, the financial development in the third quarter is a testimony to the strength and potential of our business.”
October 27, 2021
TPB Announces Third-Quarter Results
Turning Point Brands reported net sales of $109.9 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2021, up 5.5 percent over that of the previous year’s third quarter. Gross profit increased 12.3 percent to $54.3 million and net income increased 49.3 percent to $13.4 million.
“Our third quarter performance fell within our expectations with sales growth of 11 percent in our core business despite facing the headwind of Covid-related consumption and other benefits we experienced in the prior year period,” said TPB President and CEO Larry Wexler in a statement.
“Zig-Zag had another robust quarter driven by our strategic initiatives and growth within our Canadian business. Stoker’s saw double-digit growth in our Moist Snuff Tobacco (MST) business which drove growth in the overall segment. Regarding capital deployment, we continued to repurchase our shares during the quarter and today announced an increased share repurchase authorization. We also maintain a strong balance sheet to pursue a healthy pipeline of investment opportunities. Overall, we remain optimistic about the growth prospects in our core business.”
NewGen Products gross profit increased 22.4 percent to $13.5 million for the quarter. The segment gross margin expanded 760 basis points to 36.2 percent with the improvement partially driven by industry pricing pressure ahead of the PMTA submission deadline in the previous year comparable period.
Wexler said he was encouraged by the U.S. Food and Drug Administrations recent decision to reconsider and place back into review the premarket tobacco product application for TPB’s proprietary vapor products, which the agency had earlier rejected.
“I am confident that we submitted a robust application and look forward to engaging with the FDA in its review,” he said. “We continue to believe that robust regulatory oversight is a positive for the industry and we believe we are favorably positioned to leverage our strong regulatory and logistics capabilities to capitalize on an attractive long-term opportunity.”
October 27, 2021
PMI Affirms Outlook After Strong Quarter
Philip Morris International reported net revenues of $8.12 billion in the third quarter of 2021, up 9.1 percent over those reported in the previous year’s third quarter. Adjusted operating income grew 9.4 percent to $3.55 billion. The company’s adjusted operating income margin was 43.7 percent, compared with 43.6 percent in the third quarter of 2020.
PMI shipped 164.84 billion cigarettes and 23.49 billion heated tobacco units in the third quarter of 2021, down 0.4 percent and up 23.8 percent, respectively, from the previous year’s quarter.
The company estimated the total number of IQOS users at quarter-end to be approximately 20.4 million, of which approximately 14.9 million have switched to IQOS and stopped smoking.
Combined, PMI’s shipment of cigarettes and heated tobacco units increased by 2.1 percent from the previous year’s quarter, driven by higher heated tobacco unit shipments in Eastern Europe and Japan and higher cigarette shipments in PMI Duty Free and Turkey, among other factors.
“Our business delivered another strong quarterly performance, coming ahead of our expectations with adjusted diluted EPS [earnings per share] of $1.58, representing growth of 8.5 percent, excluding currency,” said PMI CEO Jacek Olczak in a statement
“The continued excellent performance of IQOS drove total shipment volume and organic net revenue growth of 2.1 percent and 7.6 percent, respectively, and was complemented by further sequential share gains for our combustible products.”
“Today, we are reaffirming our strong growth outlook for 2021, with an adjusted diluted EPS forecast toward the upper-half of our previous range and representing currency-neutral growth of 13 percent to 14 percent, despite ongoing tightness in device supplies due to the global shortage of semiconductors, which impacts our ability to fulfill consumer demand for IQOS.”
October 19, 2021
Eastern Co. Posts Record Results

Photo: Ludmila
Eastern Co. of Egypt achieved record sales and production volumes in fiscal 2020-2021, reports Daily News Egypt.
The company manufactured about 70 billion local cigarettes, 16 percent more than in its previous fiscal year. Sales increased by 12 percent to 67 billion cigarettes 2020-2021.
Eastern Co. also recorded a net income of EGP16 billion ($1.02 billion) in 2020-2021, compared to EGP14.5 billion in 2019-2020. Profits totaled EGP4.28 billion, up from the EGP 3.79 billion in the previous year.
The company is also exploring the sale reduced-risk smoking products in Egypt.
In an Oct. 17 statement to the Egyptian Exchange, Eastern Co. said it had examined the potential consumption and demand for such products in the local market.
October 19, 2021