KT&G Q3 net drops 18 pct on stronger won

By Nam Kwang-sik

SEOUL, Oct. 21(Yonhap) -- KT&G Corp., South Korea's tobacco monopoly, said Wednesday that its third-quarter earnings dropped 18 percent from a year earlier due to foreign exchange losses stemming from the stronger won.

Net income reached 167.5 billion won (US$142.4 million) in the July-September
period, compared with 203.4 billion a year ago, KT&G said in a regulatory filing.

Sales added 9.7 percent annually to 706 billion during the same period, while
operating profit fell 22.3 percent to 217 billion won.
Shares of KT&G fell 1.53 percent to 71,000 won as of 11:39 a.m. on the Seoul bourse.
"A rise in operating cost sparked by foreign exchange losses hurt our
third-quarter performance, "KT&G said.
The South Korean won has gained about 36 percent versus the U.S. dollar since
early March.
In January, KT&G said it is targeting 2.99 trillion won in sales and 1.15
trillion won in operating profit for this year.
ksnam@yna.co.kr
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