Tobacco giant, BAT Malaysia for the first nine months of the year recorded a higher revenue of RM1.83 billion, a 2.9% increase from the RM1.78 billion registered in 2021. The group added that profit from operations was also higher at RM307 million compared with RM301 million a year ago.
However, overall the group saw a decline in overall market share of 0.8% compared with the same period last year, while volume rose by 3.1% as consumption continues to recover. Its Premium and Aspirational Premium brands experienced a slight decline of 0.7% and 1.1% as a result of the delisting of two brands during the year. The Group’s Value-for-Money (VFM) brands, grew 1.0% in the share of market from 10.2% to 11.2% compared with last year. In tandem with these financial results, the Board of Directors has declared a third interim dividend of 25.0 sen per ordinary share, amounting to RM71.4 million.
Nedal Salem, Managing Director of BAT Malaysia, said, “We are encouraged by our Q3FY2022 performance, driven largely by domestic volume growth and continuous cost optimisation initiatives, which improved revenue and profit from operations.
We remain on-track and confident in our efforts to improve our performance and deliver value to our shareholders.”
He added by saying that BAT Malaysia is optimistic and is working with the relevant government stakeholders in its drive towards reducing the tobacco black market in Malaysia, in tandem with the Government’s announcement to introduce new measures to address the high level of cigarette smuggling in Malaysia. However, cautions that enforcement initiatives must be accompanied by measures to address affordability pressures for consumers.
