KT&G, 비핵심자산 효율화 속도…주주환원 무게중심 배당 확대로

KT&G has achieved its non-core asset liquidation target ahead of schedule and is shifting its shareholder return strategy from share buybacks to dividend expansion. The company's robust growth in overseas cigarettes and NGP (next-generation products) demonstrates capacity to sustain higher dividends despite inevitable declines in real estate revenues. The sustainability of dividend expansion now critically depends on whether the core tobacco business can maintain stable cash generation to support the new payout policy.