Plovdiv – Yuri Gagarin BT, the Plovdiv-based cigarette label, packaging and filter manufacturer, formerly a unit of Bulgaria's tobacco company Bulgartabac, reported 6.650 million leva in annual accounting profit, the company said in a filing with the Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE) on October 25. The result represents a multiple year-on-year increase from 700 000 leva.

The company ended the fiscal year 2007 on September 30 this year.

The news shot the price of Yuri Gagarin shares to an all-time high of 111.75 leva apiece, in what is a 26.74 per cent increase from its October 24 close price.

The company is yet to file a report on last quarter performance but sources close to the company said the profit was attributable to the sale of real estate in the northern industrial zone of Plovdiv.

At present, owner of the factory is Baranco EOOD, a company registered in Cyprus which deals with manufacturing paper and cardboard multi-colour labels and packaging for the cigarette, food, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals industries.

About 80 per cent of company revenues come from sale of produce to Bulgartabac entities. Last year, the factory clinched three-year contracts with the four cigarette making units of Bulgartabac, namely Blagoevgrad BT, Plovdiv BT, Sofia BT and Stara Zagora BT on delivery of print materials and filter tape.