South Korean tobacco manufacturer KT&G (KRX: 033780) today held an earnings conference call and announced its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2024. The company reported consolidated revenue of 1,424 billion won (about $1.03 billion) and operating profit of 321.5 billion won (about $230 million), up 6.6 percent and 30.6 percent year-on-year, respectively.

The increase was primarily driven by the strong performance of the overseas tobacco business, one of the company's three core growth businesses. The overseas tobacco business grew in all key metrics, including revenue, operating profit and sales volume, reaching a record revenue of KRW 359.1 billion (approximately US $260 million), up 35.3% and operating profit up 139.1% in the quarter.

The domestic (Korea) New tobacco Products business (" NGP ") achieved growth in key metrics such as revenue, operating profit and volume, with year-on-year growth of 10.8%, 42.8% and 7.7%, respectively. The profitability of the overseas business continued to improve thanks to the increase in sales of heated non-combustion tobacco products.

KT&G said it will accelerate its vision to become a "top global" company by strengthening the fundamental competitiveness of its core growth businesses and structural reforms. To that end, the company signed a memorandum of understanding with Philip Morris International in July to collaborate on the submission of a U.S. Pre-Market Tobacco Product Application (PMTA) for KT&G's new generation of heat-not-burn tobacco products.

On the earnings call, KT&G said it expects annual consolidated revenue to grow 2.5 to 3 percent, with operating profit flat due to changes in the business environment in the health functional foods and real estate segments.

A KT&G spokesperson said: "We achieved revenue and operating profit growth in the second quarter by expanding our overseas operations. We will continue to maximize the value of the company by strengthening the competitiveness of our core growth businesses and enhance shareholder value through our optimal shareholder return policy."