Cigarettes and Tobacco manufacturing company British American Tobacco Kenya Ltd (Stock; BAT Kenya) has reported a decline of 9 percent in profit after tax to Sh 1.95 Billion for the half year period ended 30th June 2017.
The company’s gross revenue fell to Sh 17.14 billion versus Sh 18.97 billion reported in the same period a year ago. The company paid an Excise Duty, Value Added Tax (VAT), PAYE and Corporation Tax amounting to Sh 9.2 Billion, which is equivalent to 54 percent of the company’s gross revenue.
The company said the decline in revenues was driven by lower domestic volumes following excise-led price increases, lower cut rag sales offset by higher export sales and contract manufacturing revenues.
Finance costs increased from Sh 70 Million to Sh 210 Million while Operating margin improved slightly by 2.9 percentage points to 32.9 percent despite the drop in profits.
Dividend
The company’s board declared an interim dividend for year ending dec 31, 2017 of 3.50 shillings per 10 shillings ordinary share.
Share Price
The company’s Share price on Thursday’s trading session closed at Sh 786, down by 14 percent since the start of the year.
Related; Beverley Spencer-Obatoyinbo Appointed new MD of BAT Kenya
