25th Feb 2016 07:18
LONDON (Alliance News) - British American Tobacco PLC on Thursday reported growth in profit in 2015 but a decline in revenue as it continued to be hit by negative currency movements throughout the year.
The tobacco giant said pretax profit in 2015 grew to GBP5.86 billion from GBP4.85 billion in 2014, even though revenue fell by 6.2% to GBP13.10 billion from GBP13.97 billion.
BAT said revenue declined as a result of adverse movements in foreign exchange rates, and that revenue would have risen by 5.4% to GBP14.72 billion if currencies had remained constant. Profit, however, benefited from gains on the disposal of assets and tax repayments.
BAT will pay a dividend of 154.0 pence per share for the year, which is a 4% increase on the 148.1p paid the year before.
"In 2016 we expect the trading environment to remain challenging but our resilient business model has shown the group is well placed to face future challenges. As such I am confident that we have the right brands, people and focus on efficiency to enable the continued delivery of value to shareholders," Chief Executive Nicandro Durante said in a statement.
By Karolina Kaminska; [email protected] @KarolinaAllNews
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