BAT shares fall 6.69% on lower Q4 earnings

PETALING JAYA: Shares of British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Bhd (BAT) fell RM2.20 or 6.69% this morning, after it reported a 73.9% drop in net profit to RM78.2 million for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2017.
At 11.38am, the stock stood at RM30.68 with 758,400 shares changing hands. The group has a market capitalisation of RM9.39 billion.
BAT said the lower net profit during the quarter was mainly due to an impairment provision of prepaid excise duties of RM21 million as well as the absence of land sale gain.
It proposed to declare a dividend of 43 sen per share amounting to RM122.78 million for the quarter under review.