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  • BAT’s Block Listing Application and Cancellation

    BAT’s Block Listing Application and Cancellation

    Today (Feb. 27), British American Tobacco announced it made an application to the Financial Conduct Authority and the London Stock Exchange for a block listing totaling 1.5 million ordinary shares of 25p each to be admitted to the equity shares category of the Official List and to trade on the main market of the London Stock Exchange.

    The shares will be issued pursuant to the BAT Sharesave Scheme. Upon issuance, the shares shall rank equally with the existing issued shares of the company. The admission of the shares is expected on March 3, 2025.

    BAT further announced that it currently has 31,189 ordinary shares of 25p each block listed under the British American Tobacco Executive Share Option Scheme. No allotments have been made under the Scheme since the last block listing return was released Jan. 1, 2025. All outstanding options under the Scheme have now been exercised and the Scheme has closed. As a result, the block listing associated with the Scheme has been cancelled.

  • BAT Shares Tumble 9%

    BAT Shares Tumble 9%

    Today, British American Tobacco shares dropped 9% in London on news it would take a $7.74 billion hit from a Canadian lawsuit as well as fears that changes in Bangladesh and Australia would hurt its performance in 2025. The $6 billion loss off its market capitalization was the company’s worst day on the market since 2020. BAT’s stock remains up 7% since the start of the year.

    Under the proposed Canadian settlement, an upfront payment will be followed by annual payments, initially worth 85% of net income after taxes, excluding income related to alternative products like vapes, and reducing over time. BAT and other tobacco companies were set to pay $22.8 billion to settle a long-running case in Canada, but some parties, including Philip Morris International’s Canadian affiliate, have since objected to the proposal.

    Meanwhile, BAT said new tobacco regulations in Australia and increased excise and VAT in Bangladesh would hurt its tobacco business.

    Chief Executive Officer Tadeu Marroco said these represented “significant regulatory and fiscal headwinds” that would dent its performance this year, but their impact would recede into 2026 when BAT’s investments would also pay off to spur growth. For 2025, the company expects just 1% revenue growth.

    Marroco also said he was hopeful U.S. President Donald Trump’s new administration could tackle sales of illegal disposable vapes, which have impacted its cigarette and vape sales in the country. “We remain committed to returning to our mid-term guidance of 3% to 5% revenue and 4% to 6% adjusted profit from operations growth on a constant currency in 2026,” he said.

  • Universal Corporation Announces Quarterly Dividend

    Universal Corporation Announces Quarterly Dividend

    Universal Corporation announced that the Company’s Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of eighty-one cents ($0.81) per share on the common shares of the Company, payable May 5, 2025, to common shareholders of record at the close of business on April 14, 2025.

    Universal Corporation is a global agricultural company with more than 100 years of experience supplying products and innovative solutions to meet customers’ evolving needs and precise specifications. Universal works with farmers and partners across more than 30 countries on five continents.

  • Busy Day for BAT Stocks

    Busy Day for BAT Stocks

    British American Tobacco (BAT) executed a share buyback program January 27, purchasing 129,541 ordinary shares at an average price of £29.951908 per share. According to TipRanks, this move, authorized by shareholders, “is part of its broader strategy to enhance shareholder value by reducing the number of shares in circulation, which could potentially impact the company’s stock value and stakeholder interests.”

    Later in the day, the stock rallied to £31.50 on what proved to be an all-around great trading session for the stock market, with the FTSE 100 Index. According to MarketWatch, that price was a 52-week high for BAT, surpassing the £30.47 from January 24.

  • BAT Moving Listing Would be ‘Distraction’

    BAT Moving Listing Would be ‘Distraction’

    BAT CEO Tadeu Marroco dismissed the idea of moving the company’s listing to New York from London, stating that it “would create a lot of distraction internally,” according to the Financial Times. Marroco also noted that he wasn’t sure “the benefit would be as evident as some suggest.”        

    In 2023, Rajiv Jain, chair and chief investment officer of U.S. investment group GQG Partners, which at its peak owned 4 percent of BAT stock, urged BAT to switch its primary listing to the U.S. Jain argued that Philip Morris International, which GQG Partners also owns a stake in, trades at a much higher earnings multiple.     

    GQG Partners sold out of BAT in July 2023 due to BAT’s refusal to move its listing.

    Marroco said in regards to the possibility of moving the company’s listing, “I don’t think that in this period of time, we should be focused on this.” He noted that he has “many other things” he needs to do and that “There is nothing to suggest that … it’s a no-brainer to go to the U.S.”

    While Marroco acknowledged that London’s capital markets are struggling to attract and retain listings, he noted that there are advantages to staying in the U.K.

    “If you have a shareholding of a U.K. [listed company] and you are located outside, you don’t pay withholding tax on your dividends, which is different from the U.S.,” he said.

    “Hopefully, we can see that in 10 years’ time, we don’t have this type of discussion. Today, there’s a lot of emotion that relates to it because of the frustration of some that are leaving.”

    BAT recently announced a sale of part of its stake in ITC to restart BAT’s share buyback program. “What’s most important for me is that having restarted the buyback, this should be a consistent feature in terms of our capital allocation,” said Marroco.

    “We have a massive business in the U.S. that we can use to sell [new products],” he said. BAT’s U.S. cigarette sales have fallen, driven by consumers switching to cheaper brands and cigarette alternatives such as heated-tobacco products. By 2035, BAT aims to have 50 percent revenue from alternative products.