Sri Lanka smokers cough up taxes worth 1-pct of GDP

Apr 30, 2011 (LBO) - Sri Lanka's smokers have coughed up 56 billion rupees in taxes collected through Ceylon Tobacco Company, a unit of British American Tobbacco which is equal to one percent of gross domestic product, the company said.
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Taxes rose by 3.7 percent or 7.0 percent from a year earlier. CTC chairman Jayampathy Bandaranayake said it was 8.0 percent of total state collection and amounted to 1.1 percent of gross domestic product.

Gross revenues rose to 63.5 billion rupees from 58.0 billion a year earlier. Net revenue after turnover and excise rose to 13.6 billion rupees from 12.3 billion.

The firm made a profit of 5.0 billion rupees in 2010 up from 4.1 billion rupees a year earlier. CTC reported basic earnings per share of 27.21 rupees. Bandaranayake said the firm was benefitting from higher tourist arrivals after the end of a 30-year war.

The firms had also strengthened the war-torn north and the east of the country.