Despite a recent price drop, BAT stock is still up by over 25% compared to the previous year. Photo credit: BAT
British American Tobacco (BATS) saw its shares drop by 8% to £31 after the company reported a 5.2% decline in revenue to £25.8 billion for the year ending December 31. Despite the setback, the stock is still up by over 25% compared to the previous year.
The company attributed the drop to the sale of its Russian and Belarusian operations in September 2023, along with foreign exchange challenges. Additionally, BAT is preparing for a £6.2 billion charge related to a potential settlement in Canada over a long-standing lawsuit. In 2015, a Quebec court ordered BAT, Philip Morris, and Japan Tobacco to compensate smokers for health-related issues.
BAT also warned that tax hikes in Australia and Bangladesh would negatively impact its combustible tobacco business. Tadeu Marroco, BAR c.e.o., described these as “significant regulatory and fiscal headwinds.”
‘ I am confident that we will progressively build on our delivery as we shift from investment to deployment and we remain committed to returning to our mid-term guidance of 3-5% revenue and 4-6% adjusted profit from operations growth on a constant currency in 2026,” he added.
For 2025, BAT anticipates revenue growth of about 1% at constant currency rates, with stronger performance expected in the second half of the year. While the company’s 2024 results met expectations, analysts noted that its 2025 forecast fell short of projections.
By February 17, British American Tobacco repurchased 129,000 ordinary shares at an average price of 3,086.0470 pence per share as part of its ongoing buyback program. This initiative is intended to boost shareholder value by decreasing the total number of outstanding shares. Following the buyback and cancellation of these shares, the company will have 2,205,558,002 ordinary shares in circulation, excluding treasury shares, potentially affecting shareholder voting rights and interests.