Swedish Match increased snus volume at home and grew its value segment in the final business quarter of 2014 as consumers hoarded supplies ahead of January excise duty increases, the company said.

Fourth quarter snus and moist-snuff sales rose 6 per cent. Operating profit increased 3 per cent to SEK 577 million (EUR 60.5 million). However a 12 per cent increase in Swedish tobacco excise tax and 2 per cent in Norway should harm performance at the onset of 2015.
Scandinavian snus volumes rose 6 per cent, or 1 per cent adjusted for trade hoarding and year-end calendar effects, to 64.8 million cans. Value snus market share in Sweden rose 3.2 percentage points to 39.1 per cent, Swedish Match said. In the US, the timing of promotions reduced moist snuff volume 5 per cent to 29.7 million cans.
It was a record year for cigar volumes, which grew 12 per cent to 1.1 billion sticks. Volume growth in the fourth quarter was 16 per cent. Higher sales at Scandinavian Tobacco Group, the cigar maker in which Swedish Match holds a 49 per cent stake, generated SEK 344 million in profit for the snus maker in 2014; SEK 92 million of which in the fourth quarter.