During the meeting the Chairman stressed on the double-digit growth achieved by the Company despite compelling circumstances.

Godfrey Phillips India is a major cigarette manufacturer in the Country having various brands under its fold. It has major business presence in manufacture and marketing of cigarettes and branded tea.

The Company owns major brands like Four Square, Red & White and Cavenders. Besides this the Company owns Stellar Slim, the first slim cigarette in India. During the previous year the Company also launched I.gen- India’s 1^st Euro Norm 10-1-10 cigarette.

• Owing to continuous thrust and focus on productivity and efficiency the company managed to post a double-digit growth in Sales and healthy growth in profit.
• The company managed to post good result despite the severe regulatory environment and discriminatory taxation for the tobacco industry.
• The domestic cigarette sales increased by 10% to Rs 1,460 crore during the previous year ended March 2007, whereas the cigarette export during this period increased by 34% to Rs 11.49 crore.
• The domestic tea sales increased by 21% to Rs 47.46 crore. The Company sold 3,560 tonnes of tea during the fiscal 2006-2007. Tea export however fell to Rs 4.10 crore during the year.
• The export of tobacco and tobacco product increased by 36% to Rs 75.64 crore and the sale of cigar increased by 44% to Rs 3.31 crore. The market share of the Company in Cigar therefore increased to 65% during the fiscal.
• The Company continued to expand the cigar portfolio both in the machine made and hand rolled segments.
• Overall Sales turnover increased by 11.5% to Rs 1,596 crore and the net profit grew by 49% to Rs 88.9 crore during the previous year ended March 2007.
• Additional 6% excise duty levied for the second year in a row and the 12.5% VAT levied by the States on the invoice price has increased the tax incidence in Cigarette by 30% during the previous year.
• The Company launched two new brands ‘Stellar’ and ‘Champ’ in the domestic market during the fiscal ended March 2007.
• The company believes that such a sharp increase in tax and the resultant increase in prices of cigarette will shift the demand to cheap and inefficient tobacco products such as beedi and chewing tobacco. This is likely to affect the livelihood of 38 million people of which over 75% is farmers and other rural folk.
• Even though India grows 10% of the world tobacco, its share in global trade is mere 3.5% which is mainly due to the fact that the exportable variety of tobacco-Flue Cured Virginia (which is used in cigarettes) is only 35% of the total Indian production.
• The company has been investing its surplus funds in various debt mutual fund schemes and fixed maturity plans of various Mutual funds. As on 31^st March 2007 a total of Rs 246 crore was invested in Mutual fund schemes. The company booked an aggregate profit of Rs 22.30 crore on redemption of some short and long term investments during the year ended March 2007.
• The company has been aggressively expanding its distribution in various regions of Africa, South East Asia and the Middle East to increase its tobacco sales.
• The Company is making all out efforts to increase direct exports through development of wider customer base in Philippines and Brazil.
• The Company foresees a good growth in exports owing to increased excise taxes on cigarettes in many countries.
• The Company expects to deliver good growth in revenue and bottom-line during the current year.
• The company has been aggressively pursuing its corporate social responsibilities (CSR) through various initiatives such as WHITE (We Honour the Importance of Tobacco Etiquette) and Godfrey Phillips Bravery.

• The company was not much affected by the Rupee appreciation against the dollar as the volume of export was significantly lower compared to domestic sales.
• The Company enjoys a market share of 12% in the Indian market with the leader being ITC, which enjoys a market share of more than 70%.
• The Company is exploring diversification into non-tobacco segment for competitive and strategic advantage.
• The Company expects a better performance during the current year with a sales target of Rs 1,800 crore during the current year.