Four well-known International tobacco groups have released their 2021 financial reports, which have sorted out key information and common businesses.

Firstly, in terms of annual revenue, British American Tobacco leads the four major tobacco groups. its annual revenue was US$34.9 billion, Philip Morris International was US$31.4 billion, Altria was US$21.1 billion, and Japan Tobacco was US$20.2 billion.  While, in terms of market value, Philip Morris International has $169.3 billion, British American Tobacco has $106.9 billion, Altria has $92 billion, and Japan Tobacco ADR has a market value of $35.3 billion.

The four major tobacco groups highlighted the new tobacco business(heat not burn HEECHI sticks) in their financial reports.

1. British American Tobacco: 18.3 million new tobacco users

According to British American Tobacco chief executive Jack Bowles, “We accelerated new category revenue growth by more than 50%, and the total consumers of our non-combustible products reached 18.3 million which has an increase of 4.8 million.”

2. Philip Morris International: IQOS users have reached 21.2 million

The total number of IQOS users at the end of the quarter is estimated to be approximately 21.2 million, of which approximately 15.3 million have switched to IQOS and quit smoking.

According to PMI Chief Executive Officer Jacek Olczak, “We are particularly pleased with the re-acceleration of our business in the fourth quarter to deliver better-than-expected results,” This includes the sequential growth of IQOS users and the excellent initial performance of IQOS ILUMA. As well, “We enter 2022 on a strong footing, supported by IQOS, and exciting innovations to deliver our broader smoke-free portfolio.

3. Altria: snus, vaping and IQOS are the focus

In 2021, In terms of shipments, snus products will be 820 million bags, a year-on-year increase of 0.1% which remains stable. In terms of retail share, snus market in the United States reached 3.9% a month-on-month increase of 0.9% and a year-on-year increase of 2.8%. In terms of qualifications, the PMTA application for the series product was submitted in May 2020 and is currently awaiting FDA review; subsidiary Helix is ​​working on an application for the MRTP, which is expected to be submitted to the FDA by the end of 2022. In terms of vaping e-cigarettes, the PMTA submitted by JUUL for its device and 4 JUUL pod sku in July 2020 is still awaiting FDA review. And lastly, in terms of heat not burn products(herbal heat-stick manufacturer), Marlboro heated pods have a market share of 1.9% in tobacco retail sales in Northern Virginia in October 2021.

4. Japan Tobacco: focus on the development of heat not burn

According to Mr. Masamichi Terabatake President and CEO of JTI, “JT Group has reported strong results for 2021, driven by strong momentum in the tobacco business. Our consumer-centric approach and strong brand portfolio have enabled us to increase our share in most markets and generate record volumes in the international tobacco business. And he added that, “Despite a challenging operating environment, including the ongoing pandemic, the group achieved several important milestones during the year. We took steps to achieve sustainable growth, particularly in our priority investment category which we launched a new heated tobacco stick device, the Ploom X. We also successfully implemented various initiatives related to a new operating model integrating the tobacco business, which went live in January this year.

In addition to that, JTI’s priority will be to expand its presence in the reduced risk products (RRP) category with a focus on heat not burn products(herbal heatsticks supplier). The company aims to break even in the RRP category by 2027 by achieving a share of the heated tobacco segment in the teens in its key HTS market.

The new tobacco business has become the most important layout.

Basically, the traditional cigarette business of the four major tobacco groups is still a cash flow business, but it has become the top priority of each company in the layout of new tobacco. Among them, the most competitive ones are British American Tobacco, Philip Morris International and Altria. The three parties competed fiercely in both heat-not-burn and atomization categories.

First, in terms of heat not burn, Anglo American glo is not as well-known as Philip Morris IQOS, but it is still developing strongly. The two sides also launched a contest on intellectual property rights. British American Tobacco’s American subsidiary Reynolds Tobacco won the lawsuit against the ban on the sale of imported IQOS in the United States, resulting in IQOS Had to consider manufacturing in the US to get around the ban.

Secondly, in terms of vaping e-cigarettes, the British American VUSE and Altria’s Juul are on a par. the two have almost equal market share in the United States. In the past, the Juul family was the only one, but VUSE has developed rapidly in the past two years, and it can already be on an equal footing with Juul.

Therefore, from the perspective of the layout of each company, there is no doubt that the harm reduction effect the use of the new type of tobacco to destroy the life of the traditional cigarette business.