Cigarettes group British American Tobacco, which is axing its Darlington factory, today announced a 2pc rise in half-yearly operating profits and a 10pc increase in its interim dividend as it said it remained on track despite "a challenging year".
The London-based group said overall operating profits excluding goodwill and one-off items for the six months to June 30 came in at £1.4bn as all the company's regions apart from America Pacific made increased contributions. But pre-tax profits fell 25pc at £762m after the group took a charge of £279m following the restructuring of its business in the UK and Canada. The dividend to shareholders will increase to 11.8p.
Earlier this month, BAT said it was closing its factory in Darlington with the loss of about 490 jobs. It said this was largely the result of a policy of moving production to sites more local to their markets, particularly in South Korea and Nigeria.
Chairman Martin Broughton called the figures "a solid set of results in the current economic environment" and said: "In a challenging year, we
Archive Search For comprehensive business editorial archive searches, research, back issue queries and photo archive searches, email the library at the Evening Gazette or phone them on 01642 234239.
Business Comment
Enterprise North East
Evening Gazette's
