Outlook and risk factors
Full Year 2020 Outlook
Swedish Match expects that the trend of increased interest from consumers, industry participants and regulators in less harmful alternatives to cigarettes will continue.Our ambition is to create value for both shareholders and society by providing products that are recognized as safer alternatives to cigarettes.
For 2020, Swedish Match expects continued market growth in global markets for smokefree nicotine products, most notably driven by rapid growth of nicotine pouches (both without tobacco and with small amounts of tobacco).
During 2020, Swedish Match expects to increase its investments in marketing, distribution and sales efforts in both existing and new markets to actively participate in growth opportunities. Continued capital investments by Swedish Match to further expand ZYN production capacity are expected to result in capital expenditures in 2020 considerably above the 2019 level.
The effective corporate tax rate in 2020, excluding associated companies and larger one-time items, is expected to be in the 22 percent to 23 percent range.
The Company remains committed to returning cash not needed in operations to shareholders.
Effects from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19)
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, acknowledging the global scale of the impact of COVID-19 on people’s health, families and communities. Additionally, businesses across the globe are facing severe challenges. While longer-term effects from the pandemic are uncertain, the commercial, operational and financial consequences to Swedish Match have thus far been limited. The effects from the COVID-19 pandemic during the second quarter were mainly related to higher factory costs and employee related costs due to hygiene and social distancing protocols, production constraints within our Dominican Republic manufacturing facility, and reduced shipments of products to certain markets and within certain classes of trade. Swedish Match is closely monitoring the current situation including governmental guidelines and advice from public health authorities in every country where we operate. We are proactively taking the steps that we believe are necessary to mitigate potential impacts to our employees, our customers and our business, as well as society. To date, other than the deferral of tax payments in the US, no material governmental subsidies or concessions related to COVID-19 have been sought or received by Swedish Match.
Risk factors
Swedish Match faces intense competition in all of its markets and for each of its products and such competition may increase in the future. To remain successful, the Group must develop products and brands that resonate with changing consumer trends, and price and promote its brands competitively. Restrictions on advertising and promotion may, however, make it more difficult to counteract any loss of consumer loyalty. Competitors may develop and promote new products which could be successful, and could thereby have an adverse effect on Swedish Match results of operations.
Swedish Match has substantial sales in the US, with products sourced from local US production facilities and imports from Swedish Match’s production facilities in the
Dominican Republic and in Sweden. Swedish Match also has operations in Brazil, Denmark, Norway, the Philippines and EMU member countries. Consequently, changes in import duties as well as in exchange rates of the euro, Norwegian krone, Danish krone, Brazilian real, the Dominican peso and in particular the US dollar may adversely affect the Group’s results of operations, cash flow, financial condition or relative price competitiveness in the future. Such effects may occur both in local currencies and when such local currencies are translated into Swedish currency for purposes of financial reporting.
Regulatory developments and fiscal changes related to tobacco and other nicotine products, corporate income and other taxes, as well as to the marketing, sale and consumption of tobacco products and other products containing nicotine in the countries where the Group is operating may have an adverse effect on Swedish Match results of operations.
For a further description of risk factors affecting Swedish Match, see the Report of the Board of Directors in the published Swedish Match annual report for 2019.
Source: Swedish Match Interim Report January-June 2020.
