KT&G said on the 5th that it posted record results last year with 6.5796 trillion won in revenue and 1.3495 trillion won in operating profit.
Revenue rose 11.4% from a year earlier, and operating profit increased 13.5%. However, net income last year fell 6.1% to 1.0944 trillion won.
Fourth-quarter operating profit was 248.8 billion won, up 17.1% from the same period a year earlier. Revenue for the period came to 1.7137 trillion won, up 10.1%.
Overseas combustible cigarette business drove the growth. Revenue from overseas combustible cigarettes last year increased 29.4% to 1.8775 trillion won. The share of overseas in total combustible cigarette sales was 54.1%, surpassing the domestic market for the first time.
Boosted by new product launches at home and abroad, revenue from the electronic cigarette business (NGP, Next Generation Products) rose 13.5% to 890.1 billion won.
KT&G also announced its management targets for this year along with last year's results. It set this year's revenue and operating profit growth targets at 3% to 5% and 6% to 8%, respectively.
It also plans to achieve a total shareholder return ratio of at least 100% through a payout ratio of 50% or more and share buybacks when the stock is undervalued. It will maintain an upward trajectory for per-share dividends at around 6,000 won annually.
In particular, it plans to accelerate the shift to overseas hub production by starting up a new plant in Indonesia in the first half of this year. Last year, through 2.4 trillion won in capital expenditures (CAPEX) released at the end of 2023, it completed a plant in Kazakhstan and began production.