British American Tobacco (BAT), leader of the local cigarette market, estimates it will post losses in Romania in 2002, for the first time in the past few years.
"Even though our profit in the past years was not very significant, we will post losses this year for the first time, considering the additional expenses triggered by the new special taxes and by the higher stamp prices," said Gavin Little, general manager of BAT Romania.
With a 37% share of the Romanian cigarette market, BAT will post turnover ranging between 260 and 300 million dollars this year, according to Little.
"However, we will register more than 300 million dollars next year, when we are also hoping to be in the black," added the general manager of BAT Romania.
The three companies through which BAT operates in Romania - BAT (Romania) SRL, BAT (Romania) Investment SRL and BAT (Romania) Trading SRL - jointly posted net profit worth more than nine million dollars last year.
Quantitatively speaking, BAT Romania's market share amounts to 30.6%, as the company holds more than 50% of the premium and medium segments, through brands such as Kent or Viceroy. "However, the bulk of the Romanian cigarette market is held by the 'low' segment, where we have a 30% share," Little said.
The best performing segment of the Romanian market consists of the 'lights' cigarettes, with a constantly expanding share, Little feels. "This segment is considerably smaller in Romania as compared to the other European countries, thus its potential is huge. That is precisely why we have focused on this potential, where we hold a very solid position," says the general manager of BAT Romania, a company that has invested more than 100 million dollars on the Romanian market in its five years of operations.
BAT's main competitors in Romania are Philip Morris, Japan Tobacco International (JTI), the National Company Romanian Tobacco (SNT) and Papastratos.
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