Embattled cigarette maker Japan Tobacco (JT) reported its domestic cigarette sales for September increased by 24.7 per cent in comparison to September 2017, while sales for the nine-month Jan-Sept period were down 8.7 per cent.

JT shipped 9.4 billion sticks in September, up 24.7 per cent on the 7.5 billion shipped in Sept 2017. 64.2 billion sticks were sold in the nine-month period, down 8.7 per cent on the 70.3 billion sticks sold in the same nine-month period in 2017.
The cigarette maker’s recent results show lessening sales declines. In 2017, JT reported that stick sales for the Jan-Sept 2017 period had fallen by 11.8 per cent on the comparable period in 2016, and that Sept 2017 sales were down 13.6 per cent on September 2016.
The company reported cigarette revenue of JPY 56.2 billion (EUR 435 million) for September, an increase of 24.8 per cent. Cigarette revenue for the nine-month period, at JPY 383 billion (EUR 2.96 billion), was down 8.5 per cent.
JT has seen cigarette volumes in Japan tumble on the back of market contraction and heated tobacco sales.