Japan Tobacco (2914.T): Press release on Russian business: Cash and deposits/liabilities disclosed

On November 9, Japan Tobacco (JT) announced that all of its group entities in Russia had now been placed under temporary administration and that the Russia business continues to operate at present. It also disclosed financial information for the business. As of end-September 2026, assets of the Russian business were c.¥1,500 bn, of which cash and deposits were c.¥360 bn, and liabilities were c.¥200 bn (net cash position). The figure for cash and deposits may be slightly lower than market assumptions, as some investors had estimated them in the mid-to-high hundreds of billions of yen. Although the Russian business has not been able to pay dividends to the group since 2023 due to restrictions on its use of cash and deposits, per the company the business has continued to make intra-group royalty payments, which may explain the lower balance. JT's consolidated cash and deposits stood at ¥831.1 bn, and interest-bearing debt was ¥1.68 tn as of end-December 2025. Our 12-month target price is