JAPAN – Japan Tobacco Inc (TSE:2914) released preliminary cigarette sales report that showed domestic cigarette sales in Japan last year dropped 2.8% to 106.2 billion cigarettes.
For the month of December alone, sales volume fell 3.6% to 9.6 billion cigarettes. Despite the drop in sales volume, Japan Tobacco Inc said Japanese domestic cigarette revenue continued to post slight increase.
From January to December 2016, Japanese domestic cigarette revenue hit JPY623.8 billion (USD5.44 billion), up 0.9% from a year ago. For the month of December, domestic cigarette revenue was up 1.8% from a year ago to JPY57 billion.
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Japan TObacco Inc (TSE:2914) also saw its market share growing last year, accounting for 61.1% of the market for the entire 2016 from 59.9% in 2015.
Japan Tobacco Inc. is a leading international tobacco company. Its products are sold in over 120 countries and its globally recognized brands include Winston, Camel, Mevius, LD and Natural American Spirit.
With diversified operations, JT is also actively present in pharmaceuticals and processed foods. The company’s revenue was JPY2.253 trillion in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015.
Japan Tobacco (TYO:2914)’s stock was up 0.72% at the market close last Friday to trade at 3,764 a share. A total of 3.96 million shares were traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Last December, Japan Tobacco and Torii Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, JT’s pharmacuetical subsidiary, announce that Torii will launch novel anti-HIV drugs, “Descovy Combination Tablets LT” and “Descovy Combination Tablets HT”. – BusinessNewsAsia.com