Business
Preliminary Results
British American Tobacco PLC reported preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2025, showing a reported revenue decrease of 1.0% to £25,610 million, or a 2.1% increase at constant currency, driven by combustibles and Velo Plus in the U.S. and multi-category growth in AME, partially offset by APMEA. New Categories revenue accelerated to double-digit growth in the second half, with full-year growth of 7.0% to £3,621 million, and their contribution increased by 77.1% to £442 million. Reported profit from operations saw a significant increase of 265% to £9,997 million, largely due to a movement in the Canadian settlement provision, while adjusted profit from operations rose by 2.3% to £11,628 million at constant currency, with an adjusted operating margin of 44.0%. Reported diluted EPS increased by 157% to 349.1p, with adjusted diluted EPS up 3.4% at constant currency. The company is confident in its mid-term growth algorithm and expects 2026 performance at the lower end of its guidance range, while remaining on track to reduce leverage to within 2.0-2.5x by the end of 2026, supported by strong cash conversion. The company also announced a 2.0% dividend increase to 245.04p...
About this update from British American Tobacco P.l.c.
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\n\n\n12 February 2026 - Press Release/Preliminary Results\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBritish American Tobacco p.l.c.\n\n\n\n\nPreliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2025\n\n\n\n\nMomentum Drives Further Confidence in 2026 Delivery\n\n\n\n\nSummary\n- Added 4.7 million consumers (to 34.1 million) of our Smokeless brands\n- Smokeless products now 18.2% of Group revenue, up 70 bps vs FY24\n- Reported revenue down 1.0% (due to currency headwinds), up 2.1% at constant FX, driven by combustibles and Velo Plus in the U.S. and continued multi-category growth in AME, partly offset by APMEA\n- New Categories revenue growth accelerated to double-digits in H2, with FY growth of 7.0%2\n- New Categories contribution2 increased by 77.1% to £442 million, driven by our Quality Growth approach\n- Improved combustibles revenue and category contribution2,3 driven by the U.S. and AME\n- Reported profit from operations up 265% (with reported operating margin up 28.4 ppts to 39.0%), largely due to the movement in the Canadian settlement provision\n- Adjusted profit from operations1,2,3 up 2.3%, adjusted operating margin1,2,3 at 44.0% (flat vs FY24)\n- Reported diluted EPS up 157% to 349.1p, with adjusted diluted EPS1, 2,3 up 3.4%\n- Confident in sustainably delivering mid-term growth algorithm, 2026 performance expected at the lower end of the range\n- On track to reduce leverage3 to within 2.0-2.5x by end 2026, supported by continued strong cash conversion\n- Dividend growth of 2.0% to 245.04p and a £1.3 billion share buy-back in 2026\nTadeu Marroco, Chief Executive\n\"I am pleased with our accelerating momentum through 2025, enabling full-year delivery at the top end of our guidance. This reinforces our confidence in sustainably delivering our mid-term algorithm from 2026.\nOur U.S. business has delivered strong growth, mainly driven by sustained momentum in combustibles, resulting from our commercial actions and enhanced execution. Velo Plus has delivered excellent results with triple-digit revenue growth, with Velo reaching the number 2 position in volume and value share and achieving category contribution profitability within one year of launch. The recent improvement in Vuse performance is encouraging, although the Vapour category continues to be impacted by illicit proliferation. Over time, we believe Vuse is well p...