Vape product sales help PJ Carroll & Co increase profits to €6.18m
Vapour products delivered 22% of PJ Carroll & Company's total revenue for 2023.
Sales of vape products by tobacco seller PJ Carroll & Company last year contributed to company pre-tax profits increasing by 23% to €6.18m.
New accounts show that net revenues at PJ Carroll & Company Ltd last year increased by 7% from €28.48m to €30.53m.
According to the directors’ report, the 2023 performance was driven by combustible and vapour brand portfolios as well as the launch of Velo nicotine pouches in June 2023 as the business entered the ‘modern oral nicotine pouch category’.
The directors state that in an extremely competitive vapour market, driven mainly by disposables, PJ Carroll’s vapour products delivered 22% of total PJ Carroll revenue for 2023.
The directors state that illicit trade in vaping products “has created a challenging trading environment in Ireland, with non-compliant product being imported from Northern Ireland and the UK”.
Regarding the risk facing the company’s vape business, the directors point to the “lack of enforcement by the Government on the sale of non-compliant product and the sale to u18s”.
The directors of the British American Tobacco (BAT) subsidiary state that the announcement of a vapour excise of 50c per ml of e-liquid, effective from the second half of 2025, will increase the price of all brands within the category and “will drive consumers to illicit products and potentially back to combustible products”.
They state that recent announcements by the Government around legislation for vapes “has created turbulence on trade, with many questions around restrictions and potential ban timelines”.
The directors state that despite a 13% drop in sales of PJ Carroll combustible volumes in 2023, the manufacturer’s price increase in March contributed to overall growth in combustible revenues and accounted for 75% of total revenues.
The company’s overall gross revenues for the year totalled €181.32m, that included duty excise and other taxes of €150.79m.
They state that a successful launch of Velo nicotine pouches in June 2023 contributed 3% of overall revenues.
The directors state that illicit trade and Non-Irish Duty Paid (NIDP) product “continue to be the biggest challenge facing the business”.
They state that combined, illicit trade and NIDP make up 34% of the total market in combustibles, with illicit cigarettes accounting for 19% of the market and NIDP accounting for 15%, a figure which continues to grow post-Brexit.
The company recorded post-tax profits of €5.2m after incurring a corporation tax charge of €973,000.
The company had accumulated profits of €42.85m at the end of last year.
