JT has reported strong second quarter results for 2019, with a 5.9 per cent increase in adjusted operating profit to JPY 177.9 billion (USD 1.6 billion), which was mainly driven by pricing gains in both the international and Japanese domestic tobacco businesses, the company said.

JT’s second quarter results show that the company’s total shipment volume grew 9.8 per cent, which was driven by acquisitions in Bangladesh, Greece and Russia, according to the company. In addition to that, JT reported that its market share increased across several key markets Canada, Iran, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, South Korea, Sudan, Taiwan, Turkey and across most markets in Europe, particularly the UK. For the company’s Japanese domestic tobacco business,
A stronger US dollar versus the Japanese yen could not offset unfavourable currency movements against the US dollar, resulting in core revenue and adjusted operating profit decreasing 1.4 per cent and 18.5 per cent respectively. The positive price/mix from all clusters, in addition to a volume contribution from market share gains and acquisitions, could not compensate for the unfavourable currency movements, the company said.
JT estimated the overall RRP market size in Japan in the quarter at c. 22.5 per cent (on shipment basis) of the tobacco industry volume. In the quarter, JT RRP sales volume was increased by 0.3 billion to 0.8 billion stick equivalent. “While RRP is our future growth driver, we believe strengthening our position in the category requires more time but we will confront this challenge by prioritizing investments towards our enhanced product portfolio. Internationally, we are gaining momentum with Logic Compact’s geographic expansion, already beyond our initial plan,” Masamichi Terabatake, President and Chief Executive Officer of the JT Group, was quoted as saying.