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  • Court Returns Control of Habanos S.A. to Chen Zhi

    Court Returns Control of Habanos S.A. to Chen Zhi

    A British Virgin Islands court ruling could allow Chinese businessman Chen Zhi to regain control of his 28.55% stake in Habanos S.A., the Cuban cigar monopoly, and other international cigar businesses. Justice Gerhard Wallbank ruled that liquidation orders covering more than 30 entities linked to Chen should be discharged because the BVI Attorney General failed to provide admissible evidence supporting the applications. The entities include Simply Advanced Ltd., which holds Chen’s interest in Allied Cigar Corporation, the Madrid-based company that owns 50% of Habanos, two major cigar factories outside Cuba, and the VegaFina and Flor de Copán brands. Court-appointed liquidators from financial advisory firm Interpath had taken control of the entities in January following U.S. and British allegations that Chen was involved in a multibillion-dollar criminal enterprise. Chen has denied the allegations through a Prince Group spokesperson.

    The ruling could halt plans to sell Chen’s interests, although the court called for an orderly implementation of its decision, and further legal proceedings in the United States and British Virgin Islands could affect the outcome. Chen’s representatives have also sought to remove U.S. court protections granted to Interpath. The ownership dispute follows European Union sanctions imposed on Chen in July, which have disrupted Cuban cigar distribution in Austria, Germany, and Poland. 5th Avenue Products Trading GmbH, the distributor in those markets, has been unable to ship cigars since early September and has filed for insolvency. The future ownership of Chen’s cigar interests remains unresolved.

  • Pyxus Returns to Quarterly Profitability, EBITDA Reaches $43M

    Pyxus Returns to Quarterly Profitability, EBITDA Reaches $43M

    Pyxus International reported second-quarter fiscal 2027 net income attributable to the company of $4.1 million for the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with a net loss of $879,000 a year earlier. Sales and other operating revenues declined 6.3% to $534.4 million from $570.2 million, as leaf tobacco volumes sold fell 15.8% to 77 million kilos amid shipment delays in Asia, Africa, and South America. Operating income decreased to $40 million from $46.7 million, while adjusted EBITDA fell to $43 million from $54.8 million. Net income included a $9.1 million gain from the sale of the company’s tobacco processing facility in Araranguá, Brazil.

    For the first half of fiscal 2027, revenue declined 9.9% to $972.2 million, while the net loss attributable to Pyxus narrowed to $3.1 million from $16.7 million. The company reported net debt of $1.25 billion at Sept. 30, down $13.6 million year over year, and net leverage of 5.86 times, compared with 6.54 times a year earlier. Pyxus maintained its full-year revenue outlook of $2.3 billion to $2.5 billion and narrowed its adjusted EBITDA guidance to $215 million to $235 million, from a previous range of $210 million to $240 million.

  • Putin Seizes Control of JTI’s Russian Operations

    Putin Seizes Control of JTI’s Russian Operations

    Russian President Vladimir Putin placed the Russian assets of Japan Tobacco International (JTI) under temporary administration, transferring control of its stakes in four local businesses to Russian company Industrial Assets. The Nov. 5 decree did not provide a reason for the move. JTI, part of Japan Tobacco Inc., is Russia’s largest tobacco manufacturer by sales volume. The company did not immediately comment.

    The move follows similar actions against foreign companies, including Nestlé, Metro AG, and Auchan, whose Russian assets were placed under temporary management in September. Moscow has increasingly used the measures against companies from countries it considers unfriendly because of sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine. The decision also comes amid deteriorating relations between Russia and Japan, including Russia’s recent detention of a Japanese journalist on espionage allegations, which Tokyo has denied.

  • Universal Reports Lower First-Half Fiscal 2027 Earnings

    Universal Reports Lower First-Half Fiscal 2027 Earnings

    Universal Corp. reported second-quarter fiscal 2027 net income attributable to the company of $12.6 million, down 63% from $34.2 million a year earlier, as revenue fell 18% to $621.8 million. For the six months ended Sept. 30, revenue declined 15% to $1.15 billion, while net income fell 82% to $7.6 million. Tobacco Operations revenue decreased 19% in the quarter to $534.3 million, while operating income fell 33% to $43.9 million. For the first half, tobacco revenue declined 17% to $971.5 million, and operating income dropped 53% to $47.4 million.

    Universal attributed lower tobacco sales volumes to a delayed market cycle and oversupply conditions, particularly for flue-cured and burley tobacco, as well as later customer commitments and shipping instructions in Africa and Brazil. Tobacco sales volumes fell 18% in the first half, while uncommitted inventories stood at 19% at Sept. 30, within the company’s target range. Universal expects shipments to be heavily weighted toward the second half of fiscal 2027, with CEO Preston Wigner saying customer commitments remain in line with full-year sales plans.

  • KT&G Reports Record Revenue, Forecasts $5.2B in Annual Sales

    KT&G Reports Record Revenue, Forecasts $5.2B in Annual Sales

    KT&G reported record quarterly revenue of 1.91 trillion won ($1.4 billion) for the three months ended Sept. 30, up 4.3% year over year, while operating profit increased 13.9% to 530.1 billion won ($392.3 million). The South Korean tobacco company expects full-year revenue of 7 trillion won ($5.2 billion) and operating profit of 1.5 trillion won ($1.1 billion), compared with 6.58 trillion won ($4.9 billion) and 1.35 trillion won ($999 million), respectively, in 2025. Its tobacco business generated revenue of 1.31 trillion won ($969 million), up 6%, and operating profit of 425.5 billion won ($314.9 million), up 14.4%. Overseas cigarette sales recorded a 10th consecutive quarter of growth, with quarterly records for volume and revenue, while KT&G maintained its leading position in South Korea’s heated tobacco market.

    KT&G plans to expand cigarette sales into about 30 additional countries, increase premium sales of brands such as ESSE, and expand its direct overseas heated tobacco operations. Its LOOP nicotine pouch brand aims to reach about 70 countries by 2030. The company also expects to save more than 550 billion won ($407 million) over four years through global production optimization, including a new Indonesian plant. KT&G will increase its annual dividend by 33.3% to 8,000 won ($5.92) per share and raise its payout ratio to at least 75% by 2030. Beginning next year, it plans to buy back and cancel 1.2 trillion won ($888 million)  in shares over four years. Including dividends, total shareholder returns are expected to exceed 5 trillion won ($3.7 billion) during that period.

  • AIR Submits PMTA for Rechargeable Vape Platform

    AIR Submits PMTA for Rechargeable Vape Platform

    AIR Global PLC announced it has submitted a Premarket Tobacco Product Application (PMTA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for Crown Switch, a rechargeable pod-based vaping platform. The application includes toxicology and aerosol chemistry assessments, clinical and nonclinical studies, consumer research, manufacturing and quality-control data, and evaluations of individual- and population-level health impacts. AIR said consumer research found strong interest among adult smokers, including stated intentions to use the product.

    Crown Switch uses Greentank’s Quantum Vape chip-based aerosolization technology. AIR invested $20 million in Greentank in July and received a warrant allowing it to increase its ownership stake by an additional 20% over 24 months. The company said the product features a pod closure designed to reduce leakage and prevent refilling, child-resistant packaging, and a battery tested against recognized safety standards.

  • Godfrey Phillips India Profit Falls 37.7%

    Godfrey Phillips India Profit Falls 37.7%

    Godfrey Phillips India reported a 37.7% decline in net profit for the July-September quarter, falling to ₹1.9 billion ($20.1 million) from ₹3.05 billion ($32.3 million) a year earlier, as higher cigarette taxes continued to pressure profitability. Quarterly expenses nearly tripled to ₹40.3 billion ($426.4 million), driven by increased excise duties and higher raw material costs. Revenue from operations rose to ₹42 billion ($444.4 million) from ₹16.23 billion ($171.7 million), reflecting price increases implemented following the tax hikes announced in January. The company, which manufactures and markets Marlboro cigarettes in India under license from Philip Morris International, said higher taxes have also contributed to illicit cigarette trade.

  • BAT Kenya Study Finds $78M in Tax Losses from Illicits

    BAT Kenya Study Finds $78M in Tax Losses from Illicits

    Kenya loses an estimated Sh10.2 billion ($78.5 million) annually in excise duty and value-added tax revenue to illicit cigarette sales, which accounted for 45% of the market in 2025, according to a study commissioned by British American Tobacco (BAT) Kenya and conducted by research firm Kantar. Legally taxed cigarettes held a 55% market share, down from 66% in 2021. The study estimates cumulative tax losses of Sh37 billion ($284.9 million) over five years.

    Uganda was identified as the leading source of illicit cigarettes entering Kenya, followed by Tanzania and South Sudan. The study attributed cross-border smuggling in part to differences in excise duty rates, with Kenya charging Sh4,100 ($31.57) per 1,000 cigarettes, compared with Sh1,974 ($15.20) in Uganda, Sh1,874 ($14.43) in Tanzania, and Sh1,200 ($9.24) in South Sudan. BAT Kenya Managing Director Sidney Wafula called for more predictable excise tax policies, stronger border controls, and measures to prevent the diversion of transit shipments. Employment across the formal tobacco value chain declined from approximately 80,000 people in 2022 to 75,000 in 2025.

  • Zimbabwe Tobacco Plantings Increase 28%

    Zimbabwe Tobacco Plantings Increase 28%

    Zimbabwe farmers had planted 22,918 hectares of tobacco by Oct. 30, up 28% from 17,867 hectares during the same period last year, according to the Agricultural Development Advisory Services. Of the total, 87% (19,998 hectares) was under irrigation, while 2,920 hectares were dryland crops. Mashonaland East led production with 7,949 hectares planted, followed by Manicaland with 7,148 hectares, and Mashonaland Central with 4,274 hectares.

    The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board is encouraging growers to invest in irrigation and limit plantings to areas they can manage with available resources amid dry conditions and concerns about El Niño. Zimbabwe Tobacco Growers Association President George Seremwe said high temperatures and limited water supplies were affecting some crops, while dryland farmers were preparing seedlings for transplanting when sufficient rainfall arrives. Rising input and capital costs also remain a challenge for smallholder farmers, according to Tobacco Farmers Union Trust President Edward Dune.

  • Missouri Retailer Launches Free Vape Tax Calculators

    Missouri Retailer Launches Free Vape Tax Calculators

    Vape Society Supply, an online retailer based in Columbia, Missouri, launched two free online calculators estimating state and local vape excise taxes across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. One calculator estimates taxes on consumers‘ online purchases, while the other calculates excise taxes on wholesale orders for retailers. The tools cover multiple product categories, including disposable vapes, pods, e-liquids, devices, accessories, and nicotine pouches, and include links to state tax rules and sources. The consumer calculator also incorporates local taxes in Chicago, Cook County, Anchorage, and the Mat-Su Borough.