BRITISH American Tobacco (BAT) delivered a 4.2% rise in group revenue in the first half of its financial year, despite efforts by governments in the jurisdictions it operates in to stomp out smoking as a practice.In Malaysia, authorities introduced a 40% excise duty hike in November 2015, which caused a steep decline in volume and earnings in the six months to end-June. In Australia, plain packaging laws, along with higher taxes, also led to a decline in sales in the period under review, but market share for the Rothmans brand increased.BAT sold 332-billion cigarettes in total during the period, a 3.4% rise compared with the year-earlier period. The growth in cigarette volumes translated into a 4.2% rise in interim revenue, to £6.67bn at current rates of exchange.James Bushnell, an analyst at Exane BNP Paribas, said BAT had released a "decent set of results", which showed strong organic growth. "With trends in most key markets in reasonable shape — SA being an exception — BAT looks ...
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