BAT Earnings Jump 17.7% on Lower Operating Expenses

Source from:  The Star  07/23/2014

British American Tobacco (M) Bhd (BAT)'s net profit rose 17.7% year-on-year to RM248.1mil for the second quarter ended June 30 on lower operating expenses.

This is despite a lower revenue of RM1.22bil recorded for the quarter versus RM1.56bil a year earlier.

Basic earnings per share jumped to 86.9 sen versus 73.8 sen in 2013.

For the first half year, BAT's net profit also increased to RM473.5mil against RM415mil a year ago. Revenue for the six months was higher at RM2.38bil compared with RM2.25bil in 2013.

BAT said in its filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday that its gross profit was up 14.4% year-on-year.

Despite the large excise-driven price increase last year, which put pressure on its premium portfolio, BAT managed to maintain its market share at 61.7% year-to-date.

Last September, the Government increased the tobacco excise duty by 14%. Enditem