Carreras to launch citrus cigarette
CARRERAS LIMITED plans to launch a menthol cigarette encased in capsule that allows smokers to switch to a citrus flavour mid-smoke.
It will contain a double-capsule which when tapped or clicked releases flavours.
Carreras first added capsule cigarettes, or click cigarettes, to its product line-up in 2013. The double-click product represents an upgrade of the capsules, which allows for two flavours in one cigarette.
“This double capsule not only boosts freshness but (allows) the consumer to switch to experience a citrus flavour,” said Managing Director Marcus Steele in a statement prefacing the cigarette distributor’s first-quarter report for the period ending June.
Carreras expects to launch the product nationwide in this its second quarter. Efforts at comment from Steele about the product were unsuccessful up to press time.
The cigarette trader reported in its first-quarter results that it continues to steadily grow revenues despite competition from illicit cigarettes and high taxes.
Carreras sold $3.45 billion worth of cigarettes in the June quarter, a period in which sales grew at an annual rate of 10 per cent, while profit rose 12 per cent to $923 million. The quarter was also marked by the continued investment in core brands, including its menthol cigarette Matterhorn.
“On April 1, we successfully implemented a new route to market structure which included the reorganisation of the sales force and distribution routes with a focus on increasing or distribution coverage. In doing so the sales team was upgraded and changes were made to the distribution structure and strategies,” said Steele in the financial report. The company, he added, was reaping the benefits of the reorganisation.
Based on its financial results, Carreras will pay out $870 million in quarterly dividend by month end or 18 cents per share. The company, which operates from Ripon Road in New Kingston, is a 50.4 per cent subsidiary of Rothmans Holdings (Caricom) Limited, but is ultimately owned by British American Tobacco Plc.