Export Award
KT&G won the US$ 700 million Export Tower Prize for recording US$ 764 million in exports thanks to strong sales of ESSE among others from July 1 of 2015 to June 30 of 2016 at the 53rd Trade Day Event held by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) on December 5.
The figure is a 22% increase from the same period of last year. KT&G won the prize for the sixth time as the company had taken home the prizes for exporting US$ 100 million in 2002, US$ 200 million in 2004, US$ 300 million in 2006, US$ 400 million in 2008 and US$ 5 billion in 2011.
Since exporting cigarettes in 1988 for the first time, KT&G has been exporting them to about 50 countries around the world. Until September of this year, cumulative cigarette exports amounted to 540 billion pieces and nearly US$ 6.6 billion. The expansion of exports was attributable to customized product launch strategies in the Middle East and Central Asia and efforts to develop new markets and expand sales in Asia, the Pacific and Latin America.
Sales and operating income which KT&G chalked up last year through exports amounted to 681.1 billion won and 288.9 billion won, up 28% and 66% year on year, respectively. Its export growth has continued this year so it is expected that this year, KT&G will perform better than last year. Last year, KT&G sold a total of 46.5 billion pieces of cigarettes abroad which eclipsed its domestic sales volume for the first time ever. The 46.5 billion pieces were produced at home and abroad.