Imperial Tobacco NZ sales up by 16%

Tuesday 21st February 2012 1 Comment

Imperial Tobacco New Zealand, the local unit of the global group with brands including Drum, Horizon, JPS and Peter Stuyvesant, posted a 16 percent increase in annual sales, generating about $249 million for the government coffers from duties.

Profit rose to $21.4 million in the year ended Sept. 30, from $16.97 million a year earlier, according to the Wellington-based company’s results posted with the Companies Office. Sales rose to $345 million from $297.8 million a year earlier.

Growth in sales of tobacco products in New Zealand meant Imperial Tobacco paid 19 percent more in duty than it did a year earlier. Tobacco generates more funds for the government than it gets in payments from its largest state-owned enterprise, Meridian Energy, which paid $163 million in ordinary dividends last year.

Duty is the biggest cost for tobacco companies, amounting to 72 percent of Imperial Tobacco’s revenue in its latest year. The company also paid $9.3 million in tax.

Raw material costs to make its cigarettes and tobacco products rose 8.3 percent to $26.2 million, its accounts show and wages gained 7.8 percent to $14.8 million.

According to the ASH website, New Zealand’s tobacco market is dominated by three companies - British American Tobacco, the largest with brands including Benson & Hedges, Dunhill, Freedom, Holiday, Kent, Lucky Strike, Pall Mall, Rothmans; Imperial Tobacco, second in terms of profit and Philip Morris, which makes Marlboro.

Horizon is Imperial’s biggest-selling brand in New Zealand, ASH says.

(BusinessDesk)

BusinessDesk.co.nz

Comments from our readers

On 22 February 2012 at 2:00 pm Peter Poeschl said:

Did they just get a bigger market share or is the overall use of tobacco products on the increase? Does anyone know?