British American Tobacco Profit Lifted by Finance Income

By Saabira Chaudhuri

LONDON--British American Tobacco PLC (BATS.LN) reported strong profit growth for the year even as revenue declined, as the cigarette maker was helped by stronger finance income and profit from associates.

BAT reported 2015 profit of 4.29 billion pounds ($5.97 billion) compared with GBP3.12 billion a year earlier, on revenue that was 6.2% lower at GBP13.1 billion, pulled down by currency movements.

The maker of Lucky Strike and Dunhill said the volume of cigarettes sold declined 0.5%, compared with a fall of 1.4% a year earlier and against an estimated industry decline of 2.3%.

In response to a BBC story published late last year alleging that BAT bribed politicians and civil servants in East Africa, the company said it has appointed an external law firm to conduct a "full investigation" and has informed the U.K.'s Serious Fraud Office of its measures.

-Write to Saabira Chaudhuri at saabira.chaudhuri@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 25, 2016 02:41 ET (07:41 GMT)

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