Sales volumes at Ceylon Tobacco Company (CTC) declined last year relative to 2008 volumes due to the higher excise-led price increases and lower consumer affordability, the company stated in a press release on its 2009 year end results.
Net profit in 2009 was Rs.4,115 million benefiting from productivity gains and aggressive cost management initiatives significantly reducing operating expenses.
The press release also stated that the CTC contributed a total of Rs.52.4 billion to the government in 2009 by way of levies, duties and taxes which grew to Rs.49.3 billion and the Provincial Council Tax which grew to Rs.3.1 billion.
The company said its revenue and contribution to government taxes and levies was benefited from robust law enforcement to minimise the presence of counterfeit and smuggled cigarettes in the country. With a persistent drive by the authorities 1,890 seizures were made in 2009, resulting in the confiscation of 79 million sticks of counterfeit and smuggled cigarettes valued at over Rs. 1 billion. This was more than double that of 2008 according to CTC.
CTC further stated that it has made good progress in its flagship Corporate Social Responsibility initiative, the Sustainable Agricultural Development Programme (SADP). The project into its fourth year remains one of the largest CSR initiatives of Sri Lanka. Aligned with the government’s national priority to alleviate poverty, the total number of families enrolled stands at 7,045 and of these, 1,475 families are from the Eastern Province. Around 941 families having achieved self sufficiency targets have successfully exited the Programme.
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