BAT Unaffected by Sputtering Economy

Source from:  tobaccoreporter.com Oct 30, 2008 11/04/2008

British American Tobacco's revenue increased by 19 percent to £8.70 billion ($14.39 billion) in the first nine months of fiscal 2008, as a result of favorable exchange rate movements, improved pricing, better product mix and the acquisitions of Tekel and Skandinavisk Tobakskompagni (ST) mid year. Revenue would have increased by 9 percent at constant rates of exchange. The reported group profit from operations was 18 percent higher at £2.71 billion, up 20 percent if exceptional items are excluded, with all regions contributing to this strong result. Profit from operations, excluding exceptional items, would have been 10 percent higher at constant rates of exchange, with Latin America the only region lower. Group volumes from subsidiaries were 524 billion, up 4 percent, a combination of organic volume growth of over 1 percent and the benefits from the two acquisitions. The four “Global Drive Brands” continued their strong performance and achieved overall volume growth of 17 percent with around a quarter of the rise coming from brand migrations. Chairman Jan du Plessis commented, "Although there is general concern about the prospects for the world economy and consumer behavior over the next couple of years, these results demonstrate that there has been no discernable effect on British American Tobacco. “Moreover, the impact of any consumer downturn on our business should be mitigated by our balanced and innovative brand portfolio covering all consumer price points. In addition, we continue to benefit from the extent of our geographic diversity, which will also help to protect shareholders from the impact of volatility in the foreign exchange markets." Enditem