Rothmans reports loss for latest quarter..

August 13, 2008 - Rothmans Inc. whose days as a publicly traded company are numbered, booked a massive $354.4 million loss in its latest quarter after the tobacco producer took a big charge for the costs of settling smuggling-related criminal charges with federal tax authorities.

Rothmans was one of two Canadian tobacco companies to plead guilty in late July to charges related to cross-border smuggling of cigarettes in the early 1990s.;

Net sales at Rothmans, Benson & Hedges Inc., the company's operating unit, slipped to $176.2 million in the first quarter of its 2009 financial year, compared with $177.4 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2008.

Reference: Cigarette maker Rothmans reports $354.4 million loss in its first quarter by David Friend, THE CANADIAN PRESS, 8/12/2008.