BAT Malaysia’s first-quarter net profits were MYR40.32 million ($8.76 million) compared to MYR52.28 million a year prior, according to the New Straits Times. Group revenue declined 25 percent.
The decline in revenue was due to lower volume prompted by the increase in vape usage and persistent tobacco black market, according to BAT Malaysia.
The company’s total market share was 51.5 percent, a decline of 0.4 percent compared to the first quarter of 2022.
“BAT Malaysia is maintaining the growth trajectory of its strategic brands within its premium, aspirational premium and value-for-money segments,” said Nedal Salem, managing director of BAT Malaysia.
“This is in tandem with the company’s aim to deliver combustible value growth to support its multicategory portfolio of reduced-risk products.”
“[W]e aim to continue growing our tobacco-heating product, Glo, which represents our efforts to offer a choice of reduced-risk alternatives to adult smokers,” Salem said. “We will also focus on investing in our VFM [value-for-money] brands and maintaining leadership in the premium segment.”
Short term, the company expects the economic environment to continue exerting pressure on financial performance. “We expect this challenging operating landscape to stretch disposable income, leading to downtrading from legal products to tobacco black market options.
“Nevertheless, in the medium term, we are confident that economic conditions will improve whilst the government looks at introducing balanced regulations on vapor and accelerating their interventions to reduce the tobacco black market,” according to the company.