Acquisitions lift British American Tobacco

30th Jul 2009 07:59

Tobacco firm British American hiked its dividend by a quarter as acquisitions continued to drive the firm's profits higher.Pre-tax profits in the six months to June 30 climbed to £2.1bn from £1.8bn over the same period the previous year as revenues rose to £19.1bn from £15bn. The Lucky Strike firm upped its interim dividend to 27.9p from 22.1p a year ago.British American acquired Denmark's Skandinavisk Tobakskompagni and Tekel in Turkey last year.The firm's four global brands - Lucky Strike, Dunhill, Pall Mall and Kent - saw strong volume growth, though trading declined in Russia, Ukraine, Japan and Mexico which British American said were affected by rising unemployment, excise-driven price increases and the growth in illicit trade.