Business

Legal Pot Could Be Next Move for Marlboro Maker

Published

7 years ago

December 5, 2018

Legal Pot Could Be Next Move for Marlboro Maker

The maker of Marlboro cigarettes is going to join some of the largest names in beer to explore the budding cannabis marketplace. Altria Group Inc., which currently owns Philip Morris USA, is known to be the latest big company that is showing interest in marijuana. Canadian medical marijuana company named Cronos Group Inc. has confirmed the ongoing talks with Altria regarding a possible investment, as per the report by AP. Altria, which is based in Richmond, Va., is known to be one of the largest cigarette makers in whole of the United States. The company has said it had no comment on announcement of Cronos. Altria has joined beverage makers such as Heineken, Molson Coors, Constellation Brands, which have already made announcement about moves in the cannabis space.

Other huge companies such as Anheuser-Busch, Pepsi, Coca-Cola and Guinness brewer Diageo have not yet acted on it, but have told that they are watching closely as the market for marijuana as well as its extracts evolves. The cannabis market is likely to grow rapidly as legalization expands in the United States and social norms are likely to change. On Tuesday, conservative Utah became the newest state that has legalized marijuana for medical purposes. Consumers are expected to spend almost $57 bn per year worldwide on legal cannabis by the year 2027, as per the Arcview Market Research, a cannabis-focused investment firm. In North America, that spending is likely to grow from $9.2 bn in 2017 to $47.3 bn in the year 2027.

Business

Black Banx Group — Third Quarter 2025 Results

Published

3 hours ago

November 3, 2025

Matthew Wiles

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE · Road Town, British Virgin Islands · October 30 2025

Black Banx reports USD 4.3 billion revenue and USD 1.6 billion pre-tax profit in third quarter 2025

Black Banx Group today announced its results for the third quarter ended 30 September 2025, delivering strong performance with further progress toward its full-year targets.

Key figures for Q3 2025:

Revenue: USD 4.3 billion
Profit before tax (PBT): USD 1.6 billion
Cost-to-income ratio: ≈ 62%
Customer base (period-end): ~92 million clients

YTD (first nine months) results: Revenue USD 12.7 billion, PBT USD 4.7 billion, positioning the Group on track toward its full-year ambitions of ~USD 17 billion revenue and ~USD 6.4 billion PBT.

“Our Q3 results reaffirm the scalability and resilience of our platform,” said Michael Gastauer, Group CEO. “By continuing to scale our client base, deepen engagement, and drive operational efficiencies, we maintain momentum toward our 100 million-customer milestone and full-year ambitions.”

Daniel Dumitrascu, Group CFO, added: “We are pleased to demonstrate sequential improvement in our cost/income ratio despite ongoing investment in growth markets. With the first nine months delivered, our Q4 plan is well calibrated to close the year strongly.”

Business highlights:

Net customer adds of approximately 8 million during Q3, bringing the total client count to ~92 million as of 30 September 2025. On pace for the 100 million-customer target by year-end.
Continued growth across emerging markets, driven by expansion efforts in Africa, South Asia and Latin America.
Strong transaction volumes across cross-border payments and cryptocurrency-adjacent services, contributing to top-line resilience.
Ongoing initiatives to optimise operations and automate processes delivered a sequential improvement in cost/income ratio to ~62% from ~64% in Q2.
Strategic investments sustained in growth markets while preserving profitability and shareholder value.

Outlook:

With three quarters behind it, Black Banx remains aligned with its 2025 full-year targets of approximately USD 17 billion in revenue and ~USD 6.4 billion in pre-tax profit. The company anticipates a seasonally stronger Q4 performance, underpinned by ongoing global client acquisition and further monetisation of its platform.

About Black Banx Group:

Black Banx Group is a global digital banking and fintech platform serving tens of millions of private and business clients across more than 180 countries. The Group offers seamless, borderless banking services, including multi-currency accounts, cross-border payments and cryptocurrency-compatible solutions. Headquartered in the British Virgin Islands, Black Banx is dedicated to innovation, financial inclusion and delivering value to its stakeholders.

Media Contact:

Black Banx Media Relations
Email: [email protected]

Forward-looking statements: This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding the Group’s business strategy, financial prospects, targets and trajectory. Actual results may differ materially from those anticipated.