Headlines:
| Cigarette sales down |
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| Friday, 14 November 2008 | |
 Cigarette sales
continue to decline with the country's main supplier Carreras Limited blaming
the drop to the unprecedented increase in the Special Consumption Tax in April.Cigarettes sales for the July to September period declined well below expectations due to added problems associated with Tropical Storm Gustav and the decline in consumer purchasing power caused by the challenging economic environment. Carreras says in the short-term, its performance will be more exposed to changes in tobacco taxation and the competition for disposable income. For the quarter under review, the company realised a profit of $778 million which was a 16% decline from $929 million last year. Revenue increased by nearly 16% to $2.6 billion. |