Imperial Tobacco Ltd., the company with worldwide marketing rights to premium Cuban cigars, released its 2011 annual report this week and revealed a double digit dip in revenues for Habanos S.A. in 2011.
Revenues fell from 39 million British pounds in 2010 to 35 million British pounds in 2011 (US$61.3 million and US$55 million, respectively), despite the company reporting a 2% growth in Cuban cigar sales as of March 31 in their mid-year report.
The report cited a 4% growth in markets outside the European Union, and said that they have added momentum to their portfolio with “new offerings including limited editions of our core brands Cohiba and Montecristo and delivered excellent growth in Russia, Brazil and China.” A weak European economy seems to be the main culprit for the sizable revenue decrease.
Despite the loss in revenue, the Corporación Habanos S.A. joint venture nearly doubled its after-tax profits from 2011, going from five million British pounds in 2010 (approximately US$7.8 million) to 10 million British pounds (approximately US$15.72 million) in 2011.
Imperial Tobacco Ltd.s full 2011 annual report can be found on their website.