Ciggy seller British American Tobacco (BATS) is muscling its way up the pecking order of dividend stalwarts thanks to its 17th consecutive annual payout rise. If that continues as expected, BATS could become the sixth highest payer in the FTSE 100 in 2016, according to consensus forecasts - aided, of course, by payouts from the commodities sector tumbling.
Besides its income prowess, the company has managed to weather an increasingly challenged market. Excluding its acquisition of Croatian company TDR, cigarette volumes fell 0.8 per cent to 663bn but this was better than an industry decline of 2.3 per cent. Tobacco volumes also fell by the same amount.
The group did manage to grow its market share in its key markets though - those which make up 80 per cent of volumes - by more than 40 basis points. Profit from operations was flat at £4.6bn, but would have been 13.6 per cent higher if adverse currency movements were ignored.
Prior to the results, analysts at JPMorgan Cazenove expected adjusted EPS of 224p in 2016, rising to 240p in 2017.
| BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO (BATS) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 3,993.5p | MARKET VALUE: | £74.4bn | |
| TOUCH: | 3,993.5-3,994.5p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 3,993.5p | LOW: 3,232p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 3.9% | PE RATIO: | 17 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 270p* | NET DEBT: | 299% | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£bn) | Pre-tax profit (£bn) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 15.4 | 4.93 | 157 | 126 |
| 2012 | 15.2 | 5.59 | 196 | 135 |
| 2013 | 15.3 | 5.80 | 205 | 142 |
| 2014 | 14.0 | 4.85 | 167 | 148 |
| 2015 | 13.1 | 5.86 | 231 | 154 |
| % change | -6 | +21 | +38 | +4 |
Ex-div: 17 Mar Payment: 5 May *Includes intangible assets of £10.4bn, or 560p a share | ||||
