Egypt's state-owned top cigarette maker Eastern Company reported a 15.77 percent decline in its profits during the first nine months of financial year 2018/2019. The Ecompany's profits fell to 2.89 billion pounds from July 2018 to last March, compared to 3.43 billion pounds in the year-ago period, according to a statement to the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) on Tuesday. The profit drop was ascribed to the 365 million pounds decrease in credit interest, the statement added. On the other hand, the company's revenues rose to 10.4 billion pounds for the nine-month period ended 31 March from 10.02 billion pounds in the corresponding period of financial year 2017/2018. During the six-month period ended 31 December, the company's profits amounted to 2.02 billion pounds from 2.32 billion pounds in the year-ago period, while revenues rose to 7.09 billion pounds from 6.7 billion pounds in the first half of financial year 2017/2018.
