Robust growth in revenue and profit, driven by volume increase compared with the earthquake-affected prior year in the Japanese domestic tobacco business and strong top line growth in the international tobacco business, demonstrating a solid start to the 12-month forecast.
Full year forecast remains unchanged.
Driven by growth in the tobacco businesses, Revenue and Adjusted EBITDA increased 17.2% and 37.0% respectively. Adjusted EBITDA at constant rates of exchange and Profit attributable to owners of the parent grew 45.8% and 83.2%, respectively.
Japanese Domestic Tobacco Business: Total sales volume and core revenue increased 59.5% and 59.2% respectively, in comparison to the prior fiscal year affected by the earthquake. Adjusted EBITDA grew 108.5%, driven by increased sales volume and a favorable comparison due to the absence of the March 2011 earthquake related costs this fiscal year. This growth was partly offset by the Company’s initiatives aimed at strengthening brand equity.
International Tobacco Business: Robust top line growth was driven by strong pricing and shipment volume growth, increasing core revenue and adjusted EBITDA by 11.6% and 11.8% respectively in US dollars. Total and GFB shipment volumes grew 4.7% and 9.5% respectively, driven by continued GFB momentum, favorable comparisons with the previous year in several markets, mainly Spain and Italy, and a positive impact from the acquisition in Sudan. At constant rates of exchange, core revenue and adjusted EBITDA grew 15.4% and 21.4% respectively.