British American Tobacco Kenya (BAT Kenya) has reported its half-year results for the period ended 30 June 2025, highlighting a sharp divergence between shrinking sales, rising profits, and an unprecedented dividend increase.
- •The cigarette maker’s HY2025 net revenue came in at KSh 11.7 billion, flat from HY2024 and well below the KSh 14.1 billion high in 2022.
- •Gross revenue fell to KSh 18.5 billion, extending a three-year slide as the company’s legal sales have steadily weakened due to aggressive excise tax hikes and the surge in untaxed cigarette sales.
- •According to management, illicit products now make up 37% of Kenya’s market, up from 26% just two years ago, and are a key reason the business has not regained volumes.
| Metric | HY 2025 | HY 2024 | YoY % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross Revenue | KSh 18.49 Bn | KSh 19.64 Bn | -5.9% |
| Net Revenue | KSh 11.73 Bn | KSh 11.72 Bn | +0.1% |
| Operating Profit | KSh 4.23 Bn | KSh 3.77 Bn | +12.0% |
| Profit Before Tax (PBT) | KSh 4.32 Bn | KSh 3.05 Bn | +41.7% |
| Profit After Tax (PAT) | KSh 2.98 Bn | KSh 2.14 Bn | +39.7% |
| Basic & Diluted EPS (KSh) | KSh 29.83 | KSh 21.36 | +39.7% |
| Interim Dividend per Share (KSh) | KSh 10.00 | KSh 5.00 | +100.0% |
| Net Cash from Ops Activities | KSh 2,651 Mn | KSh 2,270 Mn | +16.8% |
| Total Assets | KSh 16.71 Bn | KSh 17.63 Bn | -5.2% |
| Total Equity | KSh 14.77 Bn | KSh 15.73 Bn | -6.1% |
BAT has been flagging this as the single biggest risk to revenue, with KSh 9 billion lost annually to the exchequer. With consumer incomes under pressure and enforcement still weak, the trend is unlikely to reverse soon.
Despite lack of top-line momentum, profit before tax jumped 42% to KSh 4.3 billion, profit after tax rose 40% to KSh 3.0 billion, and earnings per share hit a record KSh 29.83, all mainly driven by cost control, currency effects, and efficiency gains rather than sales recovery. The asset base shrunk, down to KSh 16.7 billion from KSh 17.6 billion last year.
Cash from operations improved to KSh 2.7 billion (HY2024: KSh 2.3 billion), but remains well below the company’s earlier peaks. Most of the profit is being returned to shareholders rather than reinvested, with capital spending still tightly controlled.
BAT doubled its interim dividend to KSh 10.00 per share, breaking out of the KSh 3.50–5.00 band held since 2018, even as assets and equity continued to fall (equity at KSh 14.8 billion from KSh 15.7 billion).
