BATs Plans to Declare Quarterly Dividends from 2018

By Ian Walker

LONDON--British American Tobacco PLC (BATS.LN) said Wednesday it plans to move to quarterly dividend payments next year, with the first declared in February 2018 alongside its 2017 earnings.

The owner of Dunhill and Lucky Strike added that as part of the transition, it will declare an extra interim dividend this December, payable next February and calculated as 25% of the total cash dividend paid in 2017.

It plans to declare quarterly dividends in four equal installments in May 2018, August 2018, November 2018 and February 2019.

BATs added that its policy to pay dividends of 65% of long-term sustainable earnings, calculated against adjusted diluted earnings per share, remains unchanged.

"Quarterly dividends will provide shareholders with a more regular flow of dividend income and will allow the company to spread its substantial dividend payments more evenly over the year," BATs said.

It added that the dividends will align better with the cash flow generation of the company, enabling it to fund the payments more efficiently.

Write to Ian Walker at ian.walker@wsj.com; @IanWalk40289749

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 26, 2017 02:36 ET (06:36 GMT)

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