Scandinavian Tobacco Group A/S reports strong Q2 results

 Company Announcement No. 20/2020                                                                                                           Copenhagen, 28 August 2020



Interim report, 1 January-30 June 2020

Scandinavian Tobacco Group A/S reports strong Q2 results

For the second quarter of 2020, Scandinavian Tobacco Group delivered better than expected results with positive growth in net sales, earnings and free cash flow before acquisitions. The results were driven by increased consumption of handmade cigars and a strong volume growth in the US online business.

Q2 2020 highlights

• Net sales grew organically by 4.6% to DKK 2,097 million (DKK 1,782 million).  
• EBITDA before special items was DKK 489 million (DKK 398 million) after 19.1% organic growth. The EBITDA margin was 23.3% (22.3%).
• Earnings Per Share (EPS) was DKK 3.1 (DKK 2.2) adjusted for special items.
• Free cash flow before acquisitions improved to DKK 425 million (DKK 243 million).
• Agio Cigars, which was acquired on January 2, 2020 contributed as planned.
• In the first 6 months of 2020, net sales grew 4.9% organically to DKK 3,852 million (DKK 3,212 million), and EBITDA before special items grew 21.0% organically to DKK 815 million (DKK 637 million) with free cash flow before acquisitions improving to DKK 547 million (DKK 316 million).

COVID-19 resilient business – raised guidance

The negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Scandinavian Tobacco Group’s business has been less profound than anticipated earlier in the year. Tobacco consumption across markets and categories has displayed significant resilience and increased consumption of handmade cigars brought on by the change in consumer behaviour in the US is likely to continue for the rest of the year. While visibility around the financial outlook remains lower than normal and financial performance in the quarter was positively impacted by phasing in certain markets, the Group raised its 2020 full-year guidance on 14 August 2020 (see also Company Announcement no. 17, 2020) based on the year-to-date numbers, a strong performance in the month of July, a successful initial integration of Agio Cigars and assuming no material disruptions to the Groups supply-chain. 

• EBITDA: Organic growth >9% (previously: >2%)
• Free cash flow before acquisitions: >DKK 1,000 million (previously: ~DKK 850 million)

CEO Niels Frederiksen: “Our strong performance in the quarter is based on an overall increased consumption of handmade cigars in the US as more people work from home and by the skills and hard work of our employees around the world who have been working diligently to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic and keep the business moving forward. Additionally, a successful initial integration of Agio Cigars and the continued execution of Fuelling the Growth are also positively affecting our cost efficiency in the quarter.”   

For further information, please contact:

Investors: Torben Sand, Head of IR, phone or Media: Simon Mehl Augustesen, Director of Group Communications, phone: or

A conference call will be held on 31 August 2020 at 10.00 CEST. Dial-in information and an accompanying presentation will be available at investor.st-group.com around 09:00 CEST.

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