Universal (UVV) 28th Annual ICR Conference 2026 summary

Strategic direction and corporate vision

• Focused on maximizing tobacco business, growing the new ingredients segment, and strengthening the company for long-term sustainability and performance.

• Operates globally in over 30 countries, leveraging a broad footprint to serve diverse markets.

• Emphasizes sustainability as a core competitive advantage, integrating it into both tobacco and ingredients operations.

• Pursues synergy between tobacco and ingredients segments to enhance efficiency and performance.

• Invests in technology, human capital, and financial management to drive continuous improvement.

Tobacco business overview and competitive advantages

• Maintains a leading position as the world's top leaf tobacco supplier, contracting with over 200,000 growers.

• Differentiates through scale, financial strength, and comprehensive sustainability programs, outpacing global, vertically integrated, and regional competitors.

• Provides value by efficiently sourcing, processing, and distributing diverse tobacco varieties to meet customer needs.

• Supports farmers with agronomy expertise and strict sustainability compliance, ensuring quality and transparency.

• Demonstrates consistent growth in segment operating income over the past five years.

Ingredients business development and growth plans

• Built the Universal Ingredients segment through targeted acquisitions since 2018, now offering fruit, vegetable, and botanical products.

• Expanded capabilities with investments in R&D, commercial sales, and a $30+ million facility upgrade for extraction and packaging.

• Aims to scale up operations, increase volume, and generate higher margins through value-added, co-created products.

• Leverages a diverse product portfolio to adapt to evolving customer and market trends.

• Plans to apply sustainability expertise from tobacco to ingredients for a competitive edge.