BAT Volumes Up Five Per Cent in First Half

Source from:  Tobacco Reporter 07/31/2009

British American Tobacco's volume sales from subsidiaries during the six months to the end of June, at 349 billion, were up by five 5 per cent on those of the first six months of 2008. The increase was attributable to the acquisitions of Skandinavisk Tobakskompagni and Tekel during the middle of last year. Excluding the benefits of these acquisitions, volumes were down by two per cent, mainly because of declines in Russia, Ukraine, Japan and Mexico. BAT's four Global Drive Brands achieved volume growth of five per cent and improved shares in a number of markets. More than half of this growth was contributed by brand migrations. Sales of Dunhill were up by eight per cent, those of Lucky Strike by seven per cent and those of Pall Mall by 10 per cent, but Kent volumes fell by two per cent. Group revenue increased by 24 per cent to £6,780 million as a result of pricing momentum, volume growth and the favorable impact of exchange rate movements. Revenue increased by 14 per cent at constant rates of exchange. BAT's reported profit from operations was 22 per cent higher at £2,111 million, with a 23 per cent increase after adjusting items. Profit from operations, after adjusting items, would have been 13 per cent higher at constant rates of exchange, despite the adverse transactional impact of exchange rates on costs. Adjusted diluted earnings per share rose by 25 per cent, principally as a result of the strong growth in profit from operations and favorable exchange movements. Basic earnings per share were up 17 per cent at 73.23p (2008: 62.48p). The acquisition of an 85 per cent stake in PT Bentoel Internasional Investama Tbk, which was completed on June 17, 2009, did not have any impact on profit from operations for the six months under review. Commenting on the results, chairman, Jan du Plessis, said, "Despite difficult economic and trading conditions in many countries, the continued market share growth from our Global Drive Brands, our ability to innovate and our broad geographic spread should continue to stand us in very good stead. These half-yearly results give us confidence that we are very much on track to deliver another year of strong earnings growth." Enditem