Japan Tobacco International (JTI) reported third quarter gains in shipment volume, revenue and operating profit, driven by acquisitions in Ethiopia, Greece, Indonesia, the Philippines and Russia, according to parent company Japan Tobacco (JT).

In JT’s 2018 third quarter results, the company said its international tobacco business (JTI) saw total shipment volume, at 114.5 billion sticks, increase by 9.3 per cent compared to Q3 2017 results. Third quarter shipments of JTI Global Flagship Brands, including Winston and Camel, increased by 2.1 per cent. Core revenue for the quarter, at USD 2.99 billion (EUR 2.62 billion), was up 8.6 per cent and adjusted operating profit, USD 1.1 billion, was up 9 per cent on Q3 2017 results, JT said.
Third quarter shipments of Winston, at 39.7 billion units, were up 4.8 per cent. Camel shipments, at 14.4 billion units, were steady, up 0.9 per cent.
JTI’s total shipment volume increase was driven by acquisitions in Ethiopia, Greece, Indonesia, the Philippines, and by the company’s acquisition of Donskoy Tabak in Russia in the third quarter, according to the report. JT said that, excluding acquisitions and inventory adjustments, total shipment volume declined 1.1 per cent.
Total shipment volume for the nine-month period through September, at 320.1 billion sticks, was up 7.4 per cent on the 298 billion sticks shipped in the comparable period in 2017.
Parent company Japan Tobacco (JT) said its revenue for the third quarter grew by 9.7 per cent to JPY 600.5 billion (EUR 4.67 billion), powered by pricing benefits and growth in total shipment volume, led by acquisitions in its international tobacco business. Operating profit increased 11.8 per cent to JPY 174.8 billion “due to an increase in trademark amortization related to acquisitions”.
JT, which holds the majority of the domestic market share of cigarettes in Japan, reported a cigarette sales volume increase of 1.3 per cent in the third quarter. The overall domestic cigarette sales volumes in Japan for the quarter decreased 1.1. per cent.
JT said that its volume sales increase was driven by the “solid performance” of its cigarette brand Mevius in the third quarter. With these results, the parent company’s cigarette market share grew 1.5 per cent to 62.5 per cent compared with the third quarter in the previous year, JT reported.
President and CEO of JT Group, Masamichi Terabatake, commented on the results saying, “Our solid performance in the third quarter was mainly driven by robust pricing gains in the international tobacco business, leading us to revise upwards our forecast for adjusted operating profit at constant FX for the full year. With strong momentum in our business, I am confident that the JT Group is well positioned to achieve its mid-to long term objectives, but we will continue to monitor the impact of currency movements and geopolitical risks.