Ruse Horse

Bulgaria's cigarette-maker Bulgartabac registered a net profit of almost BGN 25 M in 2009, the company press service announced Wednesday. This is an increase of 680% compared to 2007, when the company's net profit was only BGN 3,172 M. This staggering increase, however, is primarily due to the sale of two of the company's formerly four plants as part a restructuring strategy aimed at optimizing and concentrating its production. In July 2008, the Bulgartabac plants in the cities of Stara Zagora and Plovdiv were sold for BGN 18 M and BGN 31 M respectively on the Sofia Stock Exchange. Thus, the monopoly remained with only two plants located in Sofia and in Blagoevgrad. In 2008, Bulgartabac sold a total of 17,314 billion cigarettes. Of these, 11,896 billion were sold in Bulgaria, and 5,418 billion were exported. The company's exports have increased by 16,84%.

Ruse Bulgaria Cigarette Monopoly with BGN 25 Net Profit in 2008