KT&G 2025 financial report: revenue $4.5 billion a high historic

KT&G releases its 2025 financial performance report, with consolidated revenue reaching KRW 6.58 trillion (approximately USD 4.47 billion), a year-on-year increase of 11.4%; The operating profit reached 1.35 trillion Korean won (approximately 920 million US dollars), a year-on-year increase of 13.5%. KT&G stated that the surge in performance was mainly due to the explosive growth of its traditional cigarette business overseas, with operating profit in the sector surging 53.8% year-on-year, offsetting a slight decline in domestic sales. In addition, the penetration rate of next generation tobacco product(NGP) in the Korean market has expanded to 22.8%, and the market share of cartridge has reached 46.0%.

Quick overview of key points

Revenue hit a new high: The consolidated net revenue for the full year of 2025 reached 6.58 trillion Korean won (approximately 4.47 billion US dollars), a year-on-year increase of 11.4%, reaching a historic high.
1. Operating profit: The annual operating profit was 1.35 trillion Korean won (approximately 920 million US dollars), a year-on-year increase of 13.5%; The operating profit in the fourth quarter increased by 17.1% year-on-year.
2. Overseas cigarette business (Global CC): performed the strongest, with revenue increasing by 29.4% year-on-year, operating profit soaring by 53.8%, and both sales volume and average selling price (ASP) breaking records.
3. Next generation tobacco product(NGP): Revenue continues to grow, with the domestic NGP market penetration expanding to 22.8%, and KT&G cigarette market share reaching 46.0%.
4. Shareholder return: The full year dividend per share (DPS) increased to KRW 6000 (approximately USD 4.08), a year-on-year increase of 11.1%, and inventory shares worth KRW 533.9 billion (approximately USD 363 million) were written off.
5. Outlook for 2026: It is expected that revenue will increase by 3% -5% and operating profit will increase by 6% -8% in 2026, while maintaining a shareholder return rate of over 100%.

According to KT&G’s official website on February 5, 2026, South Korean tobacco company KT&G has released its financial performance report for the fourth quarter and full year of 2025. The report shows that driven by strong growth in overseas cigarette business and the recovery of real estate business, the company achieved double-digit growth in both revenue and operating profit for the whole year, achieving a historic high in performance.

KT&G’s business mainly consists of three major segments: tobacco (domestic and overseas traditional cigarettes, NGP), health functional foods, and real estate.

Performance of various business sectors

1. Tobacco Business

The tobacco business is the core driving force for performance growth, with annual revenue reaching 4.37 trillion Korean won (approximately 2.97 billion US dollars) and operating profit reaching 1.16 trillion Korean won (approximately 790 million US dollars).
• Overseas Traditional Cigarettes (Global CC): The most impressive performance. Not only did sales increase by 11.2% year-on-year, reaching a new high, but the average selling price (ASP) also increased significantly by 16.4%. This led to a year-on-year increase of 29.4% in revenue and a sharp increase of 53.8% in operating profit for the sector. At present, the company’s products have covered 145 markets worldwide.
• Domestic CC: influenced by factors such as the demand for goods in advance during the Mid-Autumn Festival, the sales of Q4 cigarettes fell 11.6% year on year. But with the launch of new products, KT&G’s market share (SoM) in China has further increased to 67.3% (66.7% in 2024).
• Next generation product tobacco (NGP): Despite facing fierce market competition, revenue continues to grow thanks to the launch of new device and cartridge. The annual sales of cigarette bombs reached 14.78 billion units. The penetration rate of the domestic NGP market has expanded to 22.8%, and the market share of NGP cartridge has reached 46.0%, an increase of 0.1 percentage points compared to last year.

2. Health Functional Food Business

Affected by the global rise in consumer prices and weak market demand, the annual revenue of this sector decreased to 1.14 trillion Korean won (approximately 780 million US dollars).
But the company has successfully achieved an increase in operating profit by focusing on high profit channels and products through structural reforms, with an annual operating profit of 102.8 billion Korean won (approximately 70 million US dollars).

3. Real Estate Business

Thanks to the strong returns from small and medium-sized development projects and the one-time profit recognition of the Q4 Seocho SPC project, the real estate business revenue increased significantly to 712.6 billion Korean won (approximately 485 million US dollars), and the operating profit turned from loss to profit, reaching 81.6 billion Korean won (approximately 55 million US dollars).

Shareholder Returns and Future Prospects

KT&G announced a dividend per share (DPS) of 6000 Korean won (approximately $4.08) for 2025, a year-on-year increase of 11.1%, with a payout ratio of 58%. In addition, the company has cancelled approximately 14.3% of its shares since 2024 (compared to the end of 2023 share capital), with a total shareholder return rate (TSR) of 103.3%.

Performance guidance for 2026:

1. Performance target: Expected revenue growth of 3% to 5% and operating profit growth of 6% to 8% by 2026.
2. Return commitment: Company promise to achieve a total shareholder return rate of over 100% by 2026, plan to increase the dividend per share, and carry out share repurchases or cancellations of over 300 billion Korean won (approximately $204 million). In addition, the company also plans to provide additional shareholder returns by divesting non core assets.

Reference: KT&G 2025 financial report: revenue $4.5 billion a high historic

The South Korean vape market is rapidly expanding. The import volume of e-liquid and vape device has significantly increased – for example, the import value of e-liquid in 2024 is about 85.6 million US dollars, a year-on-year increase of about 39.5%. Due to regulatory loopholes, synthetic nicotine products have been a major component of this growth. Reference: Top 20 Markets For China Vape Export in 2025 Have Announced