British American Tobacco (BAT) announced a GBP 2 billion share buyback, while reporting higher annual profits boosted by sales of non-cigarette products.

Operating profit for the year to the end of December rose to GBP 10.23 billion from 9.96 billion a year earlier while revenue decreased 0.4 per cent to GBP 25.68 billion. On an adjusted basis, operating profit rose 5.2 per cent to GBP 11.15 billion and revenue increased 6.9 per cent to GBP 25.68 billion.
Revenue for new category products rose 51 per cent to GBP 2.18 billion and losses were reduced by 9 per cent (GBP 100 million).
Chief Executive Jack Bowles said: “In 2021 the business delivered on our transformation journey to build A Better Tomorrow. It has been a pivotal year: we accelerated New Category revenue, with growth of over 50 per cent and reached a total of 18.3m consumers (up 4.8m) of our non-combustible products. New Category losses reduced for the first time, contributing to earnings growth, and we reduced leverage to c.3x, while at the same time delivering strong financial results: 2021 has been a pivotal year.
“These strong foundations enable us to embark on the next phase of our journey – Faster Transformation – towards A Better Tomorrow. We are on a path to deliver GBP 5bn of revenue and profitability from New Categories by 2025 and are developing opportunities Beyond Nicotine, leveraging our knowledge and capabilities from New Categories.”
In addition, BAT announced a programme to buyback up to GBP 2 billion of BAT ordinary shares (the “Programme”), alongside its full-year 2021 results. The Programme will commence on 14 February 2022 and will end no later than 31 December 2022. The purpose of the Programme is to reduce the issued share capital of the Company.