BAT Bangladesh Reports Stronger Quarterly Cigarette Sales

British American Tobacco Bangladesh Company (BATBC) recorded a notable rise in cigarette sales during the second quarter of the current year, with revenue increasing by nearly 5 per cent compared with the same period a year earlier.

The multinational tobacco company sold cigarettes worth Tk 14,563 crore in the three months from April to June, according to its half-yearly financial statement. The figure was Tk 13,885 crore in the corresponding period last year, representing a year-on-year increase of Tk 678 crore, or roughly 5 per cent.

The figures were disclosed after the company’s board of directors finalised its financial statements at a meeting last Thursday. On Sunday, the first trading day of the week, the company informed investors of its profit and loss figures through the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE).

The increase in quarterly sales was accompanied by a sharp rise in profit. According to the financial report, BATBC’s profit for the second quarter climbed to Tk 204 crore, compared with Tk 97 crore during the same period last year. That represents an increase of Tk 107 crore, with quarterly profit more than doubling year on year.

The improved quarterly earnings also had a positive effect on the company’s share price in the Dhaka market. During the first two hours of trading on Sunday, BATBC shares gained Tk 1.30 each to reach Tk 227. Around 137,000 shares changed hands during the period, with the value of those transactions exceeding Tk 3 crore.

However, the company’s performance over the first six months presents a more mixed picture. BATBC recorded total sales of Tk 23,288 crore during the January-June period, down slightly from Tk 23,482 crore in the first half of the previous year. The decline in half-year sales was reflected in its overall earnings, with profit after tax standing at Tk 413 crore, compared with Tk 415 crore in the same period a year earlier.

The financial figures also highlight the substantial contribution of the tobacco sector to government revenue. During the first six months of the current year, BATBC paid Tk 19,457 crore to the government in supplementary duty and value-added tax against cigarette sales of more than Tk 23,000 crore. In the corresponding period last year, the company paid Tk 19,405 crore in supplementary duty and VAT.

Tobacco products remain a significant source of tax revenue for the National Board of Revenue (NBR), with cigarette manufacturers contributing through a combination of supplementary duties, VAT and other applicable taxes. The scale of BATBC’s tax payments illustrates the considerable fiscal importance of the sector, even as tobacco consumption remains a subject of public-health concern and regulatory debate.

BATBC is one of the long-established companies listed on Bangladesh’s stock market. The company was listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange in 1977 and is currently classified in the ‘A’ category, a designation generally associated with companies that meet key regulatory and reporting requirements. Its latest financial results are therefore being closely watched by investors assessing the company’s sales performance, profitability and contribution to government revenue.

The contrasting figures for the second quarter and the first half suggest that while the company achieved stronger sales and substantially higher profit in the April-June period, its cumulative performance for the first six months remained broadly stable, with both sales and profit slightly below the levels recorded a year earlier.