KT&G posts record earnings on upbeat sales of e-cigarettes abroad

South Korea’s largest cigarette and ginseng maker KT&G said Thursday its 2022 sales hit a record high of 5.85 trillion won ($4.65 billion), a 12 percent jump from a year prior, largely driven by its hot-selling heat-not-burn tobacco products.

During the same period, the company reported 1 trillion won in net income, up 3 percent on-year.

The company was especially buoyed by upbeat sales of HNB products abroad that also stood at a record of 1.42 trillion won, a 13.8 percent growth year-on-year.

Enhanced sales network around the world, centering on new markets such as Central and South America, was said to have driven up sales overall.

“New markets such as Africa and Latin America saw a 43 percent growth in sales. With such records, we are accumulating robust sales data in global markets overall,” said Cho Jae-young, KT&G’s global business chief, during an earnings conference.

“In regards to Asia-Pacific markets and the Middle East, we are planning on exporting new products there as well this year.”