Financial development
For cigars, Group sales for the full year 2009 were 4,426 MSEK (3,644), while operating profit was 935 MSEK (686). In local currencies, sales increased by 7 percent, led by solid growth in the US market.
In the US, sales grew by 10 percent in local currency. The American market represents 66 percent of total Swedish Match cigar sales. Cigars International Inc., acquired in September 2007, continued to demonstrate solid growth. Operating profit for premium cigars grew despite volume declines for Swedish Match and the total market. Sales and operating profit for US machine-made cigars grew, driven by higher pricing, and aided by the successful expansion of the FoilFresh® packaging concept.
Sales outside the US increased by 10 percent in Swedish kronor. Volumes grew in a number of markets, most notably in France, Portugal, Germany, and Spain, more than offsetting continued volume declines in the Netherlands. Approximately 34 percent of Swedish Match cigar sales are in Europe.