BAT Malaysia 2Q earnings up 40%
PETALING JAYA: British American Tobacco (M) Bhd (BAT Malaysia) is ready to navigate any new challenges from new laws and regulations that will be enacted this year.
The company said 2025 will be a crucial time for it as the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act 2024 (Act 852) will take effect in phases during the year.
There is also the new pictorial health warning and labelling requirements, as well as a retail display ban that will take effect on Oct 1, 2025, it said.
Against this backdrop, BAT Malaysia said it remains focused on continuing to deliver its financial performance, driven by the strength of its combustibles portfolio and its leadership position in the premium segment through Dunhill.
'The group is committed to continually strengthening its combustibles portfolio by ensuring its products stand out in quality, innovation and brand heritage,' it said.
Meanwhile, BAT Malaysia said the sales and service tax scope expansion and the targeted subsidy reforms are expected to temporarily weigh on consumer sentiment. However, it expects overall consumer spending to remain steady in the second half of 2025 due to policy easing, higher wages and increased tourism activity.
In its latest financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2025 (2Q25), its net profit rose 40% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM50.95mil as revenue declined by 2.45% to RM624.65mil.
Basic earnings per share for the quarter rose y-o-y to 17.8 sen from 12.7 sen and it declared a dividend of 12 sen.
'Our second-quarter results demonstrate the resilience of our combustibles portfolio, even in a highly competitive market environment, signalling that we are heading in the right strategic direction,' managing director of BAT Malaysia Nedal Salem said in a statement.
'The tobacco black market also saw a decline of 0.4 percentage point at 54.4% in 2Q25, compared to the previous quarter.
'This was largely contributed by the work done by the Royal Malaysians Customs Department and we continue to applaud their efforts in combating illicit trade in Malaysia,' Nedal added.
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