British American Tobacco H1 Profit Down On Slightly Lower Revenues

(RTTNews) - British American Tobacco plc. (BATS.L, BTI) reported Wednesday that its first-half profit before taxation was 4.38 billion pounds, down from 4.59 billion pounds last year.

Earnings per share were 141.6 pence, lower than last year's 150.7 pence.

Adjusted earnings per share were 154.2 pence, compared to 157.8 pence a year ago.

Revenue for the first half declined 0.8 percent to 12.18 billion pounds from 12.27 billion pounds a year ago. Revenue went up 8.1% at constant currency rates, led by New Category growth and a partial recovery from prior-year COVID-19 impacts.

Looking ahead, Jack Bowles, Chief Executive, said, "Our rapid growth in New Categories is driving significant scale benefits and 2021 is shaping up to be a pivotal year in our journey towards A Better Tomorrow. Our focus on New Categories growth and business sustainability puts ESG at the core of our strategy. There is great momentum across the business and we are well on track to meet our targets of £5bn of New Category revenue by 2025 and 50m non-combustible product consumers by 2030."