Type: Public
On the web: http://www.universalcorp.com
Employees: 26,000
Employee growth: (7.1%)

Smoking may be hazardous to your health, but providing the tobacco has proven safe and profitable so far for Universal Corporation. The company selects, buys, processes, and ships leaf tobacco in the US and more than 30 other nations, including Brazil, Canada, and Zimbabwe. The leaf tobacco is then sold to cigarette makers. Universal also procures and processes dark tobacco used in cigars, pipe tobacco, and smokeless products. The firm's Universal Leaf subsidiaries are active in Africa, Asia, Europe, South America, and the US. Universal was founded in 1918.

Key numbers for fiscal year ending March, 2011:
Sales: $2,571.5M
One year growth: 3.2%
Net income: $156.6M
Income growth: (7.0%)

Officers:
Chairman, President, and CEO: George C. Freeman III
EVP and COO: W. Keith Brewer
SVP, CFO, and Chief Administrative Officer: David C. Moore

Competitors:
Alliance One
Altadis
British American Tobacco

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