Universal Corp said sales and earnings rose in the nine months to 31 December, adding poor weather in major growing areas like Brazil would have only a modest influence on full-year performance.

“We now believe our total lamina volumes for fiscal year 2017 will be only modestly lower,” said Chief Executive Officer George Freeman. Through nine months of the fiscal year, operating profit rose USD 17.3 million (EUR 16.2 million) to USD 118.5 million on sales that increased nearly USD 105 million to USD 1.4 billion, the company said.
Third-quarter operating profit and sales increased on higher volumes “mainly due to earlier shipping patterns,” Freeman said.