British American Tobacco Reports Pretax Loss for 2023

British American Tobacco (BAT), the FTSE 100 cigarette maker known for brands like Kent, Dunhill, and Lucky Strike, has announced a pretax loss of £17.06 billion for 2023. This is a significant swing from the £9.32 billion profit recorded the previous year. The loss was primarily driven by a write-down of £27.6 billion, with £27.3 billion attributed to the pressure on its traditional cigarette brands in the U.S. as the company shifts its focus to smokeless products.

Despite the pretax loss, BAT remains optimistic about its future growth and has backed forecasts for 2024. Adjusted profit from operations saw a slight increase to £12.465 billion, compared to £12.41 billion in 2022. However, this figure fell just short of the company's consensus forecast of £12.595 billion.

BAT also reported an increase in revenue from new categories, rising from £2.89 billion to £3.35 billion. While this is positive, it did not meet the forecast of £3.46 billion according to the company's consensus.

Overall revenue for BAT in 2023 was £27.28 billion, down from £27.66 billion the previous year. The decline can be attributed to the sale of businesses in Russia and Belarus, foreign-exchange pressures, and lower cigarette volumes. However, this was partially offset by the increased revenue from new categories. The consensus forecast for revenue was £27.60 billion.

Looking ahead to 2024, BAT expects a 3% decline in global tobacco industry volume. Despite this, the company remains confident in its guidance for low single-digit organic revenue and adjusted operating profit growth for the year.

BAT's board has declared a dividend of 235.52 pence per share, reflecting an increase from the previous dividend of 230.9 pence.