In one year since the takeover, BAT has invested 20 million euros in the Croatian tobacco company.
Over the past year, British American Tobacco (BAT) has successfully integrated Croatian TDR into its global system. BAT's market share in Croatia continues to rise and has reached 52.8 percent, reports Index.hr on September 25, 2016.
Since coming to Croatia and spending more than 500 million euros to acquire TDR, BAT has continued to invest. This year, it has invested 20 million euros, and in the next period it plans to invest additional 30 million euros in a factory in Kanfanar. Thanks to the additional investments to improve quality, the factory in Kanfanar was among the first to install the advanced TASTEloc technology and is increasingly gaining in significance and importance within the entire BAT Group, according to the company.
“BAT is the biggest investor in Croatia. Over the past few years we have been extremely satisfied with the results of our operations in Croatia, where we are achieving growth in the market share each month compared to the same period the year before. We have started to export to new foreign markets, such as Germany, Hungary, Greece, Bulgaria and many others. We are satisfied with our talented employees throughout the region. I am sure that all these indicators are solid basis for further growth and development of the company”, said CEO of BAT Adria Ram Addanki.
The factory in Kanfanar produces about 7.5 billion cigarettes a year, of which 60 percent is exported to foreign markets. BAT Adria employs more than 2,500 workers.
However, the region is marked by continuous significant growth of black market – in Croatia its share is 25 percent, while in Bosnia and Herzegovina as much as 35 percent of total trade in tobacco products is illegal. State budgets in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina lose more than 2 billion kuna in revenues due to illegal trade.
“The fight to reduce the illegal market share is extremely important for consumers, for producers, and for the states. BAT calls on governments to join forces and fight together against illegal market. The growth of illegal markets is also favoured by unplanned increases of excise taxes on tobacco products. Therefore, it is of great importance for governments to precisely define when excise taxes will be increased, since that can have a significant impact on reducing the black market,” said BAT in a statement.
