[Intl-tobacco] JT overseas sales up for 7th quarter, domestic sales down

[Robert Weissman]

JT overseas sales up for 7th quarter, domestic sales down
Source: Kyodo News Service, 2001-10-25TOKYO, Oct. 25, Kyodo - 

Japan Tobacco Inc. (JT) said Thursday overseas sales in the July-September
period of this year rose 6.5% in volume terms from a year earlier for the
seventh consecutive quarter of year-on-year growth while domestic sales
declined due to Japan's economic slump.

The Tokyo-based firm sold 58.0 billion cigarettes in foreign countries in
the second quarter of fiscal 2001 ending March 31, 2002, compared with
54.5 billion cigarettes in the same quarter of the previous fiscal year.

In value terms, foreign sales reached $1,301 million for the quarter a
pretax basis, up 2.4% from $1,270 million a year earlier, and $785 million
after tax, up 1.0% from $777 million.

In Japan, sales volume fell to 61.0 billion cigarettes in the quarter from
62.7 billion cigarettes in the same period last year.

Domestic retail sales totaled 778.1 billion yen, down 2.5% from 797.8
billion yen a year earlier.

JT attributed the drop to ''the continuing slow economy, compounded by
lingering effect of the tobacco retail price hikes in 1997 and 1998.''