[Featured Stock] KT&G Surges After Presenting Blueprint for Shareholder Return Plan

KT&G, which announced a plan to enhance corporate value, is soaring in early trading on the 8th.

According to the Korea Exchange, as of 9:12 a.m. on the day, KT&G is trading at 120,200 KRW, up 11.40% (12,300 KRW) from the previous trading day.

KT&G disclosed on the 7th that its consolidated operating profit for the third quarter of this year was preliminarily estimated at 415.7 billion KRW, a 2.2% increase compared to the same period last year. Sales amounted to 1.6363 trillion KRW, down 3.1% year-on-year. Net profit decreased by 28% to 239.9 billion KRW.

However, the company stated that growth centered on its core business continued in the third quarter. Sales from the three core businesses?overseas cigarettes, NGP (Next Generation Products, e-cigarettes), and health functional foods?exceeded 1 trillion KRW, achieving the highest quarterly sales ever. The tobacco business division also recorded its highest quarterly sales to date.

On the day it announced its earnings disclosure, KT&G also revealed plans to enhance corporate value, including △presentation of key management strategies (such as ROE targets) △a four-year shareholder return policy △additional shareholder returns in 2024.

Specifically, KT&G proposed basic shareholder returns of 3.7 trillion KRW in cash by 2027 (2.4 trillion KRW in dividends and 1.3 trillion KRW in share buybacks). As part of additional shareholder returns, the company stated it would pursue further shareholder return policies upon the inflow of funds from the securitization of non-core assets. It also announced plans to prioritize share buybacks and cancellations.