Swedish Match Q2 Profit Down

Source from:  Tobacco Reporter  07/21/2014

Tobacco products maker Swedish Match AB Friday reported second-quarter profit that declined despite a rise in sales, as higher promotion and lower average price for cigars resulted in depressed profitability in that segment.

Sales and profit from Lights business also declined, while Snus and moist snuff businesses showed improvement.

For the three months to June, the company's earnings slid to 651 MSEK or 3.27 SEK per share, from 667 MSEK or 3.34 SEK per share a year earlier.

Adjusted EBITDA stood at 1,013 MSEK, compared with 1,031 MSEK in the same period last year.

Quarterly sales rose by 4 percent to 3,339 MSEK from 3,220 MSEK in the corresponding period last year.

The company expects volumes in the Scandinavian snus market and the US market for moist snuff and snus to grow in 2014. The company also expects value-priced products to grow Sweden as well as in the U.S., but said the growth is likely to produce some negative mix effects. Enditem