KT&G Corp., South Korea's dominant tobacco company, said Thursday it has bagged a US$1.8 billion cigarette supply deal in the Middle East.
In the deal, KT&G will supply its traditional cigarette products to Alokozay International Ltd. until June 30, 2027, the company said in a statement.
"The deal has secured a stable source of income for the company in the Middle Eastern markets where it has suffered a decline in sales in the past two years due to unstable political conditions, unfriendly exchange rates and higher local taxes," a company spokesperson said.
On Thursday, KT&G jumped 3.7 percent to 86,200 won on the news, far outperforming the broader KOSPI's 1.1 percent loss.
For the whole of 2019, net profit rose to 1.03 trillion won (US$877 million) from 898.66 billion won a year earlier on strong sales of new products and increased shareholding gains from affiliate Korea Ginseng Corp. (Yonhap)