BAT defies downward trend in Zim

Harare - British American Tobacco (BAT) [JSE:BTI] has defied the downward trend in Zimbabwe after recording growth in both revenue and profitability for the half-year ended June 30 2015.

The cigarette manufacturer posted 7.5% growth in revenue to US$21.79m despite a 5% drop in volumes.

Profitability also improved significantly, up 43.34% to $7.63m with the group reducing expenses across the board.

To cap the impressive results, BAT declared an interim dividend per share of 47 US cents, more than the period’s 37c earnings per share.

Total dividend paid amounted to $8.3m against earnings of $7.63m, with the balance coming from prior years’ retained earnings.

The results came at a time when most blue chip companies are struggling with declining volumes and revenue.

Delta, the country’s biggest beverages company, recently reported subdued volumes across all beverage categories and has seen revenue drop by 10% for the first quarter ended June 30 2015.

Retailer OK Zimbabwe also posted a 7.5% drop in net sales for the first quarter to June 30 2015.