Altadis S.A., the maker of Gauloises cigarettes, reported a larger-than-estimated 36 per cent drop in second-quarter profit on Spanish cigarettes.

Second-quarter net income fell to Euro 90.4 million (US$ 116 million) from Euro 141.3 million a year earlier, according to first-half results released by the Madrid-based company.
The decline follows increases in cigarette taxes in January and February this year. Competition from low-price cigarettes is rising in the Spanish market, which shrank 3.5 per cent in the first half of 2006. Spain also banned smoking in offices and billboard advertising for tobacco at the start of this year.
Altadis sold 54 billion cigarettes in Spain during the first half of 2006, which is 18 per cent less than the 66 billion cigarettes sold in the first half of 2005. (pi)