British American Tobacco p.l.c :Quarterly Repor...

LONDON, October 30 /PRNewswire/ --

    
                                     SUMMARY


    NINE MONTHS RESULTS -             2008       2007  Change
    unaudited
    Revenue                      GBP8,704m  GBP7,312m     19%
    Profit from operations       GBP2,714m  GBP2,304m     18%
    Basic earnings per share        95.49p     82.67p     16%
    Adjusted diluted earnings       95.97p     82.00p     17%
    per share





    The reported Group revenue increased by 19 per cent to GBP8,704m as a
result of favourable exchange rate movements, improved pricing, better
product mix and the acquisitions of Tekel and Skandinavisk Tobakskompagni
(ST) mid year. Revenue would have increased by 9 per cent at constant rates
of exchange.



    The reported Group profit from operations was 18 per cent higher at
GBP2,714 million, up 20 per cent if exceptional items are excluded, with all
regions contributing to this strong result. Profit from operations, excluding
exceptional items, would have been 10 per cent higher at constant rates of
exchange, with Latin America the only region lower.



    Group volumes from subsidiaries were 524 billion, up 4 per
cent, a combination of organic volume growth of over 1 per cent and the
benefits from the two acquisitions. The four Global Drive Brands continued
their strong performance and achieved overall volume growth of 17 per cent
with around a quarter of the rise coming from brand migrations.



    Adjusted diluted earnings per share rose by 17 per cent, principally as a
result of the strong growth in profit from operations and favourable exchange
movements. Basic earnings per share was 16 per cent higher at 95.49p (2007:
82.67p).



    The Chairman, Jan du Plessis, commented, "Although there is general
concern about the prospects for the world economy and consumer behaviour over
the next couple of years, these results demonstrate that there has been no
discernable effect on British American Tobacco. Moreover, the impact of any
consumer downturn on our business should be mitigated by our balanced and
innovative brand portfolio covering all consumer price points. In addition,
we continue to benefit from the extent of our geographic diversity, which
will also help to protect shareholders from the impact of volatility in the
foreign exchange markets."