Date: September 4, 2019
Despite major challenges affecting the Company, its performance for the year ended March 31, 2019 still yielded positive results. Revenues increased to $12.91 billion compared to $12.55 billion the prior year. Profit, however, was down 2% from $3.41 billion to $4.84 billion. Managing Director, Marcus Steele, at the 2019 Annual General Meeting highlighted that the growth that was experienced were amidst the challenges Carreras encountered in the market such as, “illicit trade, excise increase, regulatory environment, the risks that our sales team face each day on the road trying to sell cigarettes.” Nonetheless, revenue increased 2.8% year over year, he added, “last year prices did not increase so it is real volume recovery that we experienced last year.” Year to date, however, yielded higher growth whereas revenue increased by 10% to $3.46 billion compared to $3.15 billion for the three months ended June 30, 2018. Additionally, net profit increased 12% to $923.29 million relative to $821.09 million recorded in the first quarter of 2018.
The Managing Director also stated that Carreras is leading the industry in Innovation. The Company recently released two new products modernizing the traditional sensations. The Company’s aim was to, “modernize the traditional sensation and add value by introducing the effect of a click . This click “adds value to the consumer by giving them the power of choice.”
Carreras limited intends to enable sustainability by:
- Strengthening key Partnerships
- Engaging and working with the government and authorities
Based on an internal study done by Carreras Limited, Mr. Steele highlighted that, “53% of the cigarettes consumed in Kingston, 15% in St. Catherine and 10% in Clarendon were illicit.” Therefore, “the Government is losing $2.5 billion thus it is in our best interest to work together to fight this monster.”
The Company’s market capitalization amounted to $45.78 billion, a significant 11.1% decrease year over year as at the end of the financial year ended March 31, 2019. Carreras focused on capitalizing on their Route to Market (RTM) strategy by “analysing the market place to understand what is happening and to redesign how we move the product from warehouse to the consumer.”
Lastly, the Managing Director concluded by stating that Carreras Limited is committed to:
- Sustain Industry Leadership
- Strong financial performance
- Leading in innovation
- Delivering value to shareholders and stakeholders
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