Australian Tobacco Companies Forced Into Unappealing Cigarette Packaging

Tobacco companies in Australia have some surprises coming, as well as some demands by the Australian government under legislation revealed Thursday that probably won’t make the Tobacco industry very happy.

This move, according to the government, will make Australia the toughest country worldwide on tobacco advertising.

BAT aims for new markets as smuggling dents growth

BRITISH American Tobacco (BAT) yesterday said a rise in cigarette smuggling and the wider decline in smoking across the developed world continue to press down on growth.

Group sales by volume fell three per cent during 2010, though price rises more than offset the decline to deliver a five per cent revenue rise to £14.9bn, BAT said in its annual report.

BAT stubs out crisis fears as buyback plan resumes

Lucky Strike maker British American Tobacco has resumed a share buyback programme worth £750million after full-year profits were boosted by price hikes and the weak pound.

The world’s second biggest cigarette firm restarted the scheme, which was suspended in 2008 in the wake of the financial crisis, after seeing free cash flow increase by 23 per cent to £3.2billion. But investors were disappointed by the scale of the buyback, sending the shares down 56.18p to 2356.82p.

Local tobacco stakeholders eye export market

Local farmers of leaf tobacco, or what is commonly called 'grabba' could be looking at tapping into the lucrative market for their products overseas.

Leaf tobacco is among the top ten cash crops in major consumption centres such as the United States and China behind crops such as corn, wheat, hay, soybeans, cotton and rice. As far back as 1995, the tobacco crop produced across 15 United States valued at almost US$2.3 billion, representing approximately 2.7 per cent of the total for all cash crops and farm commodities.