Universal Corp. - Tobacco Reporter

Universal Reports Solid Start to FY26 Driven by Improved Tobacco Mix

Universal Corporation announced solid first-quarter results for fiscal 2026, highlighting gains in its Tobacco Operations segment and continued interest in its Ingredients business. Despite a modest revenue dip of $3 million to $594 million, operating income rose by $17 million to $34 million, primarily due to a favorable product mix in Asia within the Tobacco segment. While tobacco sales volumes dropped 8%, sales prices rose 2%, reflecting stronger demand and better product quality.

CEO Preston D. Wigner emphasized the return to more typical global tobacco buying patterns, with low uncommitted inventory (11%) and larger flue-cured and burley crops underway. “Customer demand remains firm following years of short supply,” he said.

In the Ingredients segment, sales volumes rose, but operating income was affected by a weaker product mix, tariff-related demand concerns, and higher fixed costs tied to an expanded facility. Still, Universal noted sustained customer interest in its new value-added ingredients offerings.

The company ended the quarter with $178.4 million in cash, $355 million in available credit, and net debt down $47.1 million quarter-over-quarter.

The company’s board of directors also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share on the shares of the company, payable November 3, to shareholders of record at the close of business on October 13.

August 7, 2025

Universal Reports Preliminary Results

Universal Corp. reported preliminary unaudited financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2025. Sales and other operating revenue were $710.8 million, operating income was $70.7 million, and net income attributable to Universal Corp. was $27.6 million. Tobacco operations sales and other operating revenues amounted to $630.2 million while tobacco operations operating income totaled $79.3 million.

“The Universal team delivered another quarter of solid results, driven by strong customer demand from our tobacco operations segment and larger, higher-quality and better-yielding crops in Africa. We believe our tobacco operations segment will continue its strong performance in the second half of our fiscal year,” said Universal Corp. chairman, President and CEO Preston D. Wigner in a statement.

While presenting preliminary figures, Universal Corp. delayed the release of its second quarter 2025 earnings due to an internal investigation regarding certain allegations related to embezzlement by a former senior finance employee at the company’s Mozambique subsidiary, Mozambique Leaf Tobacco.

The company has identified approximately $7 million of unauthorized payments during fiscal years 2022 through 2025. Universal Corp. said it intends to pursue sources of recovery, including company-maintained insurance. As of Nov. 12, the firm does not believe the matter under investigation will have a material negative impact on its financial results for fiscal year 2025.

“Integrity is a core value of ours and a key to everything we do at Universal,” said Wigner. “We are committed to ensuring that this matter is handled appropriately, and we are working to complete this investigation as soon as practicable.”

November 13, 2024

Fire Damages Universal Facility in Dominican

A fire broke out Sept. 2 at Inetab-Kaubeck, Universal Corp.’s leaf-sorting and sales facility in Moca, Dominican Republic.

In a letter sent to Universal clients obtained by Halfwheel, Inetab-Kaubeck Managing Director Philipp Schumacher said that there was “a material loss of tobacco and one part of the warehouse affected.”

The letter states that staff were not on-site at the time of the fire, and no lives were lost. It does not list the cause of the fire.

Video of the fire showed a large warehouse that appeared to still have tobacco in it, but images shared with Halfwheel show a mostly empty building with remnants of tobacco on the floor and tables as well as char marks around the walls and standing water on the floor.

In a subsequent video, Henderson Ventura of Tabacalera William Ventura and ADV & McKay Cigars Co. said that it is one of eight buildings at Inetab-Kaubeck and one that focused on Connecticut broadleaf and Pennsylvania tobaccos.

“We thank all emergency services present and [e]specially the fire departments from Moca and multiple other locations in the Cibao area for their assistance to the fire,” said Schumacher. “Thanks to their tireless efforts, it was controlled swiftly.”

September 3, 2024

Strong Start for Universal in Fiscal 2025

Universal Corp. reported net revenue of $597.1 million for the first quarter of its fiscal year 2025, up by approximately 15 percent for both its tobacco and ingredients operations segments. Operating income was $17.2 million, up 56 percent compared to the same quarter last fiscal year.

The revenue increase in the tobacco operations segment was driven by higher sales volumes and prices. “Coming out of an exceptional fiscal year 2024, we benefited from continued strong demand from our tobacco customers,” said Universal chairman, President and CEO George C. Freeman III in a statement.

“We believe this demand will continue to support solid results for the segment for fiscal year 2025. Our strategic decisions to accelerate tobacco crop purchasing allowed us to secure our contracted tobacco in certain dynamic markets, which has positioned us well to meet customer demand. As in previous fiscal years, we expect that tobacco shipment timing and related revenue recognition will be more heavily weighted toward the second half of our fiscal year 2025.

“Our uncommitted tobacco inventory levels at June 30, 2024, remained low at about 13 percent, and we believe that global leaf tobacco remains in an undersupply position. Looking ahead, we expect that recent elevated green tobacco prices will incentivize farmers to increase planting for the next season, potentially leading to more balanced markets in the coming years.”

August 8, 2024

Universal Income Up

Universal Corp. reported sales and other operating revenue of $2.75 billion in fiscal year 2024, up 7 percent over that recorded in 2023. Operating income grew 23 percent to $222 million. The company’s tobacco operations contributed sales and operating revenues of $2.44 billion, $180.5 million more than in 2023.

“Universal Corp. had a positive finish to a strong fiscal year 2024 with notable financial and operational performance in both the fiscal year and quarter ended March 31, 2024,” said chairman, President and CEO George C. Freeman III in a statement.

“Fiscal year 2024 was an exceptional year for our tobacco business, as a favorable product mix, strong customer demand and the sale of larger crops in Africa, compared to fiscal year 2023, drove our strong operating results. Fiscal year 2024 was also a significant building year for our ingredients business.”

While expecting leaf tobacco supply and demand to return to a more balanced position over time, Freeman said tobacco supply remains tight and green tobacco prices elevated. “We continue to leverage our diverse global footprint and financial flexibility to manage these conditions and to execute our tobacco strategies,” he said.

“For example, during the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024 and into the first quarter of fiscal year 2025, we accelerated buying in Brazil to ensure access to the tobacco we need for our customers [also see “The Great Scramble,” Tobacco Reporter, May 2024].

“This accelerated buying, combined with higher green tobacco prices, resulted in increased use of working capital and higher debt levels at March 31, 2024. We expect most of the net impact on working capital from our accelerated buying strategy to naturally unwind over the next two years.”

May 23, 2024

Product Mix, Demand Boost Universal Income

Universal Corp. reported operating income of $153.8 million for the nine months that ended Dec. 31, up 20 percent over the comparable period in 2022. Tobacco operations contributed 148.9 million in income, 25 percent more than in the first nine months of the previous year. Universal attributed the performance of its tobacco operations largely to higher prices and a more favorable product mix, partially offset by lower tobacco sales volumes.

“Our tobacco business continued to perform very well, driven by a favorable product mix and strong demand from our customers,” said Universal Chairman, President and CEO George Freeman III in a statement.

“Improved margins, larger crops in Africa, and strong tobacco shipments in line with our expectations benefited our results in the nine months and quarter ended Dec. 31, 2023, compared to the same periods in fiscal year 2023.

“Global leaf supply for all types of leaf tobacco continues to be tight, and as of December 31, 2023, our uncommitted tobacco inventory was at a low level of 8 percent. While we expect global leaf tobacco supply to remain tight in fiscal year 2025, in part due to El Nino weather conditions, we believe the strength of our diverse global footprint will help us satisfy our customers’ leaf tobacco needs.”

Freeman also expressed satisfaction with the progress made by Universal’s ingredients business, particularly with the expansion of the company’s factory in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA, and the advancement in achieving Universal’s sustainability agenda. The company recently published its 2023 sustainability report and announced its participation in a solar project that it believes will help Universal reduce its operational greenhouse gas emissions by a third by 2030.

February 8, 2024

Universal Buys Virtual Power

Universal Corp. has entered into a virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) with Clearway Energy Group for energy produced by a new solar project in Texas. Universal’s contracted portion of the project is intended to address emissions from 100 percent of Universal’s annual purchased electricity demand in the United States.

“This is a meaningful step toward meeting our science-based environmental target to reduce operational greenhouse gases emissions by 30 percent by 2030,” said George C. Freeman III, Universal’s chairman, president and CEO, in a statement.

“When the solar project is operational, we expect to hit this target for our U.S. operations ahead of schedule. Universal is proud of the steps we are taking to promote the sustainability of our operations and contribute to global sustainability goals, including supporting this project that will bring additional renewable energy to the electricity grid.”

The project, which will start construction later this year and begin delivering under the VPPA in 2026, will create an estimated 350 construction jobs and produce significant new tax revenue for the local community over the life of its operations.

Universal has made a long-term commitment through the VPPA to purchase a portion of the renewable power delivered to the grid by the large-scale solar facility while also receiving the associated renewable energy certificates.

Universal’s agreement equates to around 70,000 MWh of renewable electricity per year and is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 15,000 metric tons, which is 45 percent of Universal’s Scope 1 and 2 emissions in the United States. GreenFront Energy Partners provided strategic and financial advisory services to Universal throughout the procurement process.

January 30, 2024

Universal Releases Sustainability Report

Universal Corp. released its 2023 Sustainability Report.

“Universal is proud of the efforts taken in the last year to promote the sustainability of our operations and contribute to global sustainability goals,” said George C. Freeman III, Universal’s chairman, president and CEO, in a statement.

“We are taking important steps to advance our sustainability agenda as we continue to monitor and address the environmental and social impacts of our business. We are excited to share details of our work in this year’s sustainability report.”

Universal’s 2023 Sustainability Report focuses on the company’s primary sustainability topics as well as its environmental, social and supply chain goals. This report has been prepared with reference to GRI Standards and SASB Agriculture Products Standard, and data disclosed in this report reflects activities from April 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023.

December 19, 2023

Universal’s Income Jumps 30 Percent

Universal reported sales and other operating revenue of $1.16 billion for the six months that ended Sept. 30, up 7 percent over that posted for the comparable 2022 period. Operating income jumped 30 percent to $66.3 million.

Universal Chairman, President and CEO George C. Freeman III expressed satisfaction with the results. “Our Tobacco Operations segment delivered strong performance in the first half of fiscal year 2024,” he said in a statement.

According to Freeman, Universal benefited from robust demand for leaf tobacco and a favorable tobacco product mix. Leaf tobacco margins improved in the first half of fiscal year 2024, despite lower leaf tobacco sales volumes, as the company had fewer shipments of lower margin tobacco compared to the first half of fiscal year 2023.

Segment operating income for Universal’s tobacco operations segment was up 46 percent compared with the previous year’s six-month period. Uncommitted tobacco inventory levels of 12 percent at Sept. 30, 2023, remained low, and global leaf tobacco supply continues to be tight for all types of tobacco, according to Freeman.

“Looking ahead, we continue to expect that, similar to fiscal year 2023, our tobacco shipments will be strongly weighted to the second half of the fiscal year 2024,” he said. “We also believe our uncommitted tobacco inventory levels will remain low for the rest of fiscal year 2024.”

November 3, 2023

Universal Reports ‘Good’ 2023

Universal Corp. reported sales and other operating revenue of $2.57 billion in 2023, up 22 percent over that recorded in the previous fiscal year. Operating income rose 13 percent to $181.1 million. Tobacco operations contributed $2.26 billion to the company’s sales and operating revenues compared with $1.84 billion in 2022. Operating income for the tobacco operations segment increased by $15.1 million to $172.9 million.

“Fiscal year 2023 was a good year for Universal,” said Universal chairman, President and CEO George C. Freeman III in a statement. “Tobacco shipments were strong as logistical constraints eased in fiscal year 2023, and despite tight tobacco supply conditions, we were able to secure the leaf tobacco needed by our customers. Our plant-based ingredients platform continued to perform well, and we are excited about our progress in integrating our ingredients companies and executing our strategies.

“During fiscal year 2023, we enhanced and increased the scope of our platform by adding sales and research and development resources, and we recently announced plans to expand our plant-based ingredients platform’s manufacturing capabilities.

“Our results for fiscal year 2023 and the quarter ended March 31, 2023, included a favorable final ruling on a legal case involving one of our subsidiaries in Brazil regarding the exclusion of certain tax credits on exported goods in the calculation of taxable income. As a result of the favorable ruling, we recognized $5 million of interest income and a $24.2 million net income tax benefit in the quarter ended March 31, 2023.”

May 25, 2023

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