Tobacco.org

Richemont Sales Growth Slows Down on U.S. and Japan (Update6) 

Cie. Financiere Richemont SA, the world's largest jewelry maker, said third-quarter sales growth slowed after wealthy Americans and Japanese bought fewer Cartier necklaces and Piaget watches. . . .

Richemont said it will update investors on plans for its 19.3 percent stake in British American Tobacco Plc, the London- based maker of Lucky Strike cigarettes, at a later date. The holding is worth about 7 billion pounds ($13.7 billion) at the stock's current price. The luxury-goods maker said in November it would consider spinning off the stake.

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Richemont Sales Growth Slows Down on U.S. and Japan (Update3) 

Cie. Financiere Richemont SA, the world's largest jewelry maker, said third-quarter sales growth slowed after wealthy Americans and Japanese bought fewer Cartier necklaces and Piaget watches. . . .

Richemont said it will update investors on plans for its 19.3 percent stake in British American Tobacco Plc, the London- based maker of Lucky Strike cigarettes, at a later date. The holding is worth about 7 billion pounds ($13.7 billion) at the stock's current price. The luxury-goods maker said in November it would consider spinning off the stake.

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Tobacco is not yet going up in smoke  

the announcement this week that Richemont and Remgro could spin off their combined 29.9% stake in British American Tobacco (BAT).

Analysts say large tobacco companies continue to deliver strong earnings growth and offer a defensive stock to investors, making a complete exit not first prize. And it is likely they will hold onto BAT as long as possible for cash flow reasons.

Grant Swanepoel, a luxury goods and tobacco analyst at Barnard Jacobs Mellet, said that Richemont needed to see how it could affect an unbundling that looked after European interests and did not negatively affect South African investors.

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Mergermarket - Richemont's tobacco stake 

Richemont, the Swiss luxury goods conglomerate controlled by the Rupert family, may go super de luxe. The company is considering spinning off its 19.3 per cent stake in British American Tobacco ahead of 2010 legal changes in Luxembourg that will increase Richemont’s capital gains tax bill. The change would be an historic one. Anton Rupert, a South African, used money from his Rembrandt cigarette company to build up his luxury businesses, which include Montblanc, Cartier and Chlo�. Richemont then sold its tobacco assets to BAT in 1999 in exchange for shares.

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Richemont may kick the tobacco habit  

SWISS luxury goods maker Richemont said it was considering spinning off its € 9,8bn stake in British American Tobacco (BAT) from its operating interests in a bid to avoid paying more tax in Luxembourg.

South African investment holding company Remgro also said it would consider restructuring to split its tobacco assets from its other interests. It has an indirect 10,6% stake in BAT through a Luxembourg holding group. Its BAT stake accounts for about 53% of its net asset value.

Richemont and Remgro said the restructuring was proposed because of impending changes in the law in Luxembourg. Richemont’s major subsidiary and co-issuer of Richemont units is located in Luxembourg, as is the Remgro subsidiary. The move could see shareholders gaining direct stakes in BAT.

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A Smoke-Free Richemont? 

It's official -- smoking is no longer cool. Cie. Financiére Richemont, the Swiss luxury-goods conglomerate that owns such chic brands as Cartier, Montblanc and Chloé, is considering splitting off its 19% stake in British American Tobacco after eight years. The decision is primarily related to a change to the taxation of holding companies based in Luxembourg. It also is a sign of confidence in the luxury-goods market that Richemont is prepared to give up its nicotine dependence.

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• Richemont May Spin Off BAT Stake on Luxembourg Taxes (Update4) 

Cie. Financiere Richemont SA, the luxury-goods company controlled by South Africa's Rupert family, may spin off its stake in British American Tobacco Plc before increased taxes in Luxembourg hurt the investment.

Richemont shares rose the most since June 2006. The maker of Cartier jewelry and Purdey shotguns may split its luxury business from its stake in BAT, whose brands include Lucky Strikes, according to a statement from the Geneva-based company today.

Richemont and the billionaire Ruperts' Remgro Ltd. use Luxembourg-based R&R Holdings SA to own nearly a third of BAT, worth about 10.8 billion pounds ($22 billion). The European Union forced Luxembourg to end tax breaks for holding companies in 2010, prompting Richemont and R&R to reorganize.

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British American Tobacco - "smoking hot" 

I can think of no industry that is more illustrative of the mature phase of the product life cycle than the tobacco industry. No matter how one twists or turns it, tobacco is dying! Equally, I can think of no better company than British American Tobacco (BAT) that epitomises astute management when in the throes of product maturity.

BAT is the world's second-biggest traded cigarette maker globally in a market which, according to the latest annual report of Altria, the holding company of Philip Morris (the world's leading global international tobacco company) amounted to almost 5,8bn cigarettes sold in 2006. BAT sells almost ten billion pounds sterling worth of cigarettes a year, covers most of the planet and earns annual pre-tax profit in excess of 3bn pounds. This is a colossal business . . .

South African investors can own this company via Richemont where the luxury business adds a sexy sideshow or via the more staid Remgro, but with the added benefit of receiving the exposure at a discount to net asset value.

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Richemont First-Half Profit Climbs 22% on Watch Sales (Update7) 

Cie. Financiere Richemont AG, the world's second-biggest luxury-goods company, said fiscal first- half profit increased 22 percent on sales of Panerai, Mont Blanc and Jaeger-LeCoultre watches that cost as much as $25,000.

Net income climbed to 645 million euros ($823 million) in the six months through September from 529 million euros a year earlier, the Geneva-based company said today. That beat the 615 million-euro median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of seven analysts. The stock rose the most in more than four months.

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Richemont's Profit Falls; Share Price Declines 12% ($$) 

Swiss luxury-goods company Cie. Financière Richemont SA, the owner of brands such as Cartier, Jaeger LeCoultre and IWC, posted lower-than-expected results for its core watches and jewelry business, causing its shares to fall 12% Thursday.

Richemont said full-year net profit for the year ended March 31 fell 10% to €1.09 billion ($1.39 billion) from €1.21 billion due to items related to its minority stake in British American Tobacco PLC. Analysts had forecast €1.13 billion in net profit. . . .

At Richemont's bottom line, the profit contribution from British American Tobacco fell by more than a third to €486 million from €798 million. The year-earlier figure was boosted by gains resulting from a merger of BAT's U.S. business with that of R.J. Reynolds.

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2nd UPDATE: Richemont FY Pft Down 10% But Demand Strong ($$) 

Swiss luxury goods maker Compagnie Financiere Richemont S.A. (CFR.VX) Thursday said full-year net profit fell 10% due to extraordinary effects while operating profit was a third higher due to soaring demand for its jewelry and watches. . . .

The profit contribution from British American Tobacco PLC (BTI), in which Richemont has a minority stake, fell by more than a third to EUR486 million from EUR798 million.

The year-ago figure was boosted by extraordinary gains resulting from a merger of BAT's U.S. busines with that of R. J. Reynolds (RJR).

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Richemont: Sale Of Lancel, Dunhill Not An Option >CFR.VX ($$) 

Switzerland-based luxury goods maker Compagnie Financiere Richemont S.A. (CFR.VX) Thursday said a sale of its underperforming Lancel and Alfred Dunhill brands isn't an option.

"We are committed to turning around those businesses," Chief Financial Officer Richard Lepeu said in a conference call for the media. . . .

Earlier Thursday, Richemont said its net profit for the fiscal year ended March 31 fell to EUR1.09 billion from a restated EUR1.21 billion in the year-ago period due to extraordinary gains generated by British American Tobacco PLC (BTI), in which Richemont has a minority stake.

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NEWS SNAP: Richemont FY Sales +17% On Watches, Jewelry ($$) 

Swiss luxury goods maker Compagnie Financiere Richemont S.A. (CFR.VX) Tuesday reported a 17% rise in sales for the financial year ended March 31 on strong demand for its watches and jewelry products. . . .

A large portion of Richemont's net profit and market capitalization is generated by its 18% stake in British American Tobacco Plc (BTI).

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Rupert family worth $2.3bn 

The prominent Rupert family was one of only three South African families which appeared last year in Forbes rich list of billionaire families.

The American business magazine lists the 500 most-influential families with assets of more than $1 000m.

With assets of $2.3bn, the 272nd spot belongs to Johann Rupert, 54, and his family, while Nicky Oppenheimer, 59, and his family lay claim to position 72 with assets of almost $6bn. . . .

Dr Anton Rupert, who died last Wednesday at the age of 89, and his family first appeared on the list in 1996. He was then 79 years old.

86% of SA tobacco market

In 1996, the Ruperts had assets worth $1.6bn and were placed 241st.

According to Forbes, the Ruperts in that year, apart from their $816m shareholding in Richemont, also controlled 86% of the South African tobacco market and had meaningful stakes in gold-mining companies, banks and the wine industry.

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• Anton Rupert dies 

Dr Anton Rupert, undoubtedly South Africa's most successful entrepreneur and one of the greatest businessmen the country has produced, has died.

He was 89 years old.

Family spokesperson Hans Knoetze confirmed on Thursday that he died peacefully in his sleep on Wednesday night. . . .

The Rupert business empire includes Richemont, which sports luxury names Cartier, Mont Blanc, Rothmans and Dunhill, and stakes in Distell, British American Tobacco, FirstRand, Absa, TransHex, Unilever, Nampak, TotalSA, Rainbow Chicken and Medi-Clinic through Remgro.

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