British American Tobacco (BAT) announced an 8% rise in pre tax profits, largely driven by brands such as Lucky Strike and Dunhill, for the first half of this year.
The firm said it had an "exceptional" start to the year, as pre-tax profits excluding exceptional items rose 8% to £1.2bn ($2.1bn).
Recent trading has been driven by a strong performance from BAT's four "global brands", whose sales rose 6% on a like-for-like basis.
Including one-off financial costs relating to the merger of its US business with rival RJ Reynolds last year, profits only rose 1%. BAT is proposing a 10% increase in the value of its half-yearly dividend.
"In a challenging environment for global consumer goods companies, we are demonstrating our ability to achieve organic volume growth," said chairman Jan du Plessis.
"The encouraging profit growth in four of our five regions, the continuing benefit from the Reynolds American transaction and the real momentum behind our global drive brands all point to a highly satisfactory year," he added.
BAT's shares closed up 26 pence at 1096p.
The company had earlier announced that it would be closing its main UK plant in Southhampton, with the expected loss of 530 jobs. British American Tobacco (BAT) announced an 8% rise in pre tax profits, largely driven by brands such as Lucky Strike and Dunhill, for the first half of this year. The firm said it had an "exceptional" start to the year, as pre-tax profits excluding exceptional items rose 8% to £1.2bn ($2.1bn). Recent trading has been driven by a strong performance from BAT's four "global brands", whose sales rose 6% on a like-for-like basis. Including one-off financial costs relating to the merger of its US business with rival RJ Reynolds last year, profits only rose 1%. BAT is proposing a 10% increase in the value of its half-yearly dividend. "In a challenging environment for global consumer goods companies, we are demonstrating our ability to achieve organic volume growth," said chairman Jan du Plessis. "The encouraging profit growth in four of our five regions, the continuing benefit from the Reynolds American transaction and the real momentum behind our global drive brands all point to a highly satisfactory year," he added. BAT's shares closed up 26 pence at 1096p. The company had earlier announced that it would be closing its main UK plant in Southhampton, with the expected loss of 530 jobs.
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