KUALA LUMPUR: British American Tobacco (M) Bhd's (BAT) net profit eased 4.3 per cent to RM75.25 million in the third quarter (Q3) ended Sept 30, 2022 from the RM78.68 million recorded in the same quarter last year.

Its revenue increased 8.8 per cent to RM666.9 million from RM613.02 million.

For the nine-month period, BAT's net profit dropped 5.9 per cent to RM200.79 million from RM213.41 million, while revenue rose 2.8 per cent to RM1.83 billion from RM1.78 billion.

In a statement today, BAT said it had seen a decline in overall market share of 0.8 per cent compared with the same period last year, while volume rose 3.1 per cent as consumption continued to recover.

The group's premium and aspirational premium brands experienced a slight decline of 0.7 per cent and 1.1 per cent respectively as a result of the delisting of Kent and Pall Mall brands during the year. 

The group's Value-for-Money (VFM) brands, KYO and Rothmans, grew 1.0 per cent in share of market from 10.2 per cent to 11.2 per cent compared with last year.

BAT declared a third interim dividend of 25 sen per share, amounting to RM71.4 million, payable on Nov 21 to shareholders. 

Managing director Nedal Salem said the group was encouraged by its Q3 FY22 performance, driven largely by domestic volume growth and continuous cost optimisation initiatives, which improved revenue and profit from operations. 

"We remain on track and confident on our efforts to improve our performance and deliver value to our shareholders," he said.

Nedal said BAT Malaysia was particularly optimistic and was working with the relevant government stakeholders in its drive towards reducing the tobacco black market in Malaysia, in tandem with the government's announcement to introduce new measures to address the high level of cigarette smuggling in the country. 

"However, we believe these enforcement initiatives must be accompanied by measures to address affordability pressures for consumers.

"The group will continue driving its purpose to build 'A Better Tomorrow', with an emphasis on tobacco harm reduction. 

"The group encourages the government to establish scientific, evidence-based regulations, which will provide the over one million Malaysians who vape access to products of known quality and safety," he added.