Results for January 1 – March 31, 2015 on a Like-for-Like basis
Revenue and adjusted operating profit declined 5.5% and 2.9% respectively as a result of a decline in sales volume in the Japanese domestic tobacco business, negatively affected by the comparison to the previous year, and unfavorable currency movements in the international tobacco business.
Adjusted operating profit at constant FX grew 5.6% driven by robust price/mix in the international tobacco business.
Profit attributable to owners of the parent grew 16.7% due to lower income taxes.
International Tobacco Business: Adjusted operating profit declined 0.1% due to unfavorable exchange rates of local currencies against the US Dollar. In US Dollars at constant FX adjusted operating profit grew 13.1%, driven by strong price/mix.
Japanese Domestic Tobacco Business: Total sales volume declined 16.2%, due to an unfavorable comparison to the same period of the previous year which was affected by a one-off increase in demand preceding the April consumption tax (VAT) hike. Adjusted operating profit declined 14.3% as a result of the total sales volume decrease.