Japan Tobacco profit forecast falls short of analyst estimates

Tokyo

JAPAN Tobacco Inc's profit forecast missed analyst estimates as sales for the first nine months fell, hurt by a stronger yen that eroded its overseas earnings.

Operating income will probably be 580 billion yen (S$7.7 billion) this year, the Tokyo-based company said in a statement on Monday. That's lower than the 586 billion yen average of analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Sales declined 4 per cent in the first nine months due to the negative impact of foreign exchange rates.