British American Tobacco swings to loss on US writedown

(Sharecast News) - British American Tobacco said on Thursday that it swung to a full-year loss mainly due to an impairment charge related to its US business. In its preliminary results for the year to the end of December 2023, the company said it swung to a reported loss from operations of £15.75bn from a profit of £10.52bn the year before, impacted by a £27.6bn non-cash impairment charge mainly related to the US business.

BAT said group revenues ticked up 1.6% to £27.28bn, with revenue from new categories up 15.6% at £3.35bn. This was driven by Vuse and Velo, it said, with revenue from non-combustibles now making up 16.5% of group revenue.

Chief executive Tadeu Marocco said: "2023 was another year of resilient financial performance and delivery in line with our guidance, underpinned by our global footprint and multi-category strategy, despite a challenging macro-environment.

"New categories delivered continued volume-led revenue growth and increased profitability, driven by Vuse and Velo. As a result, our new categories portfolio has turned profitable two years ahead of our original target.

"In combustibles, our commercial plans in the US are enabling early signs of portfolio recovery. AME and APMEA performed well, with a strong revenue and profit performance, led by our well-balanced portfolio."