August 31 (SeeNews) - Bulgarian tobacco group Bulgartabac Holding [BUL:57B] said that it turned to a consolidated net loss of 9.3 million levs ($5.6 million/4.8 million euro) in the first half of the year from a net profit of 42.9 million levs in the same period of 2017, following a sharp drop in revenue.
Bulgartabac's total operating revenue fell to 166.1 million levs in the first six months of 2018 from 310.8 million levs in the corresponding period of last year, according to the company's interim financial statement, published late on Thursday.
The tobacco group's revenue from sale of goods and services fell 26% year-on-year to 163 million levs in January-June. Other revenue, which includes sales of noncurrent assets, shrank to 1.7 million levs in the review period from 124.9 million levs the year before.
Last year, British American Tobacco (BAT) purchased Bulgartabac's leading cigarette brands in a deal worth more than 100 million euro.
Bulgartabac generated operating expenses of 176.5 million levs in the first half of 2018, down from 262.3 million levs the year before.
Expenses for materials lost 45% year-on-year to 46.8 million levs, while cost of goods sold declined to 74.2 million levs in the period under review from 93 million levs in the first half of last year.
Last month, the Bulgarian Stock Exchange decided to move Bulgartabac Holding to its BaSE alternative market over the company's failure to disclose regulated information.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)