British American Tobacco Kenya, the NSE listed company which is engaged in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes and tobacco has announced a 21% profit drop to Sh 3.34 Billion for the full year period ended 31st December 2017.
The company’s total revenue also declined by 6% to Sh 34.5 Billion compared to Sh 36.7 Billion in the previous year. The company said the decline was due to lower domestic volumes and weaker product mix due to the continued impact of excise-led price increases in 2015 and extended uncertainty during the election period.
The cost of operations reduced by 3% to Sh 12.9 Billion on the back of reduced volumes while finance costs increased by 67.5% to Sh 494 million. The company attributed this to higher borrowing costs in the first of 2017 to finance working capital.
Taxes paid in form of excise duty, VAT, PAYE and corporation tax reduced by Sh 1.2 Billion to Sh 18 Billion.
The company also cut its dividend payout by 39.5% to Sh 26 per share compared to Sh 43 issued in the same period in 2016. The dividend is subject to withholding tax and will be paid on 11th May 2018 while books close on 16th March 2017.
