May 31 (SeeNews) - Bulgartabac Holding's [BUL:57B] consolidated net profit dropped to 17.2 million levs ($9.83 million/8.8 million euro) in the first quarter from 19.7 million levs in the like period of 2016, the Bulgarian tobacco group has said.
The company's consolidated revenues rose to 98.6 million levs in the period January-March from 89.6 million levs a year earlier, Bulgartabac said in a bourse filing late on Tuesday.
Bulgartabac lost 4.7 million levs due to "changes in inventories of finished goods or incomplete production" in the period under review. This compared to gains of 14.5 million levs from changes in inventories recorded in the first quarter of 2016.
In April, British American Tobacco (BAT) said it had signed an agreement with Bulgartabac to buy the Bulgarian group's leading cigarette brands for more than 100 million euro ($106.2 million). In addition, BAT will acquire distribution and retail assets in Bulgaria and within the wider Adriatic region. The proposed acquisition is subject to anti-trust approvals and is expected to complete by mid-2017.
Shares in Bulgartabac Holding [BUL:57B] were traded 5.42% higher at 45.012 levs in a volume of 13 units as of 10:50 CET on Wednesday on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)