JAPAN
Japan Tobacco (JT) saw a 7.3% increase in international cigarette sales volume in the first quarter of 2018, having shipped 98 billion units.
“Our traditional tobacco products, the platform of the group’s profitability, delivered robust top-line growth led by pricing in the international tobacco business,” said Masamichi Terabatake, JT c.e.o.
The increase in international sales was much higher than JT’s next-generation product, Ploom Tech, which sold about 300 million cigarette units.
However, the company’s operating profit declined, dropping 1.5%, but contributions from the company’s buying spree of traditional cigarette companies in Ethiopia, Indonesia, and the Philippines helped beat analyst estimates for the first quarter.