NZ profits slump for tobacco giant Philip Morris

Philip Morris NZ, which sells Marlboro cigarettes, brought in revenue of $73.5 million in the year ending 31 December 2012, but profits fell 30 per cent. Photo / file

Tobacco giant Philip Morris' net profit in New Zealand fell 30 per cent last year.

Philip Morris (New Zealand), which sells Marlboro cigarettes, brought in revenue of $73.5 million in the year ending 31 December 2012.

This was down from $78.4 million the year before and includes excise tax collected from smokers, according to accounts filed with the Companies Office this month.

The company's gross profit was $9.6 million, up from $8.6 million in 2011.

PMNZ's net profit after tax for the year was $993,000, down 30.2 per cent from $1.4 million in 2011.

PMNZ is owned by Philip Morris Australia, whose parent Philip Morris International is the world's largest publicly listed tobacco company.

British American Tobacco Holdings New Zealand's group profit was also down in 2012.

BAT's local group - which sells Dunhill, Pall Mall and Lucky Strike cigarettes - posted a profit after tax of $115 million for the year ending December 31, 2012.

This was down $5.8 million or 4.8 per cent on the same period the year before, according to financial statements filed with the Companies Office last month.

Another of the big three players in the local cigarette market, Imperial Tobacco New Zealand, recorded net profit of $20.9 million for the year ended September 30, 2012.

This was up from $19.5 million the same period the year before.