REG - British Amer.Tobacco - Completion of Block Trade of ITC Shares

British American TobaccoAnnouncement

28/05/2025 07:45

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
https://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20250528:nRSb3824Ka&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 3824K  British American Tobacco PLC  28 May 2025

 

28 May 2025

 

British American Tobacco p.l.c.

 

Completion of Block Trade of ITC Shares

 

Further to our announcement on 27 May 2025, British American Tobacco p.l.c.
("BAT or the "Group") has completed the block trade of 313,000,000 ordinary
shares (the "Block Trade Shares") in ITC Limited ("ITC") to institutional
investors by way of an accelerated bookbuild process (the "Block Trade"). The
Block Trade Shares represent c.2.5 per cent of ITC' issued ordinary share
capital.

Net proceeds from the Block Trade amount to INR 121bn (approximately £1.05bn
at current exchange rates).

As indicated in our announcement made on 27 May 2025, the transaction will
provide BAT greater financial flexibility as it delivers on its commitment to
invest behind transformation, deleverage and enhance shareholder returns.

The net proceeds from the Block Trade will also be utilised to extend the
Group's existing share buyback programme announced on 18 March 2024 (the
"Programme") by an additional £200 million, taking the total amount to be
repurchased in 2025 to £1.1 billion.

The extension will begin following completion of the latest tranche of the
Programme announced on 29 April 2025 and is expected to complete no later than
31 December 2025.

 

 

ENDS

Enquiries

Media Centre

+44 (0) 20 7845 2888 (24 hours) | press_office@bat.com
(mailto:press_office@bat.com) | @BATplc (https://twitter.com/BATplc)

 

Investor Relations

Victoria Buxton: +44 (0)20 7845 2012 | IR_team@bat.com
(mailto:IR_team@bat.com)

 

About BAT

 

BAT is a leading global multi-category consumer goods business. Underpinned by
world-leading science and R&D, our purpose is to create A Better
Tomorrow™ by Building a Smokeless World where, ultimately, cigarettes have
become a thing of the past. BAT's purpose is backed by Omni™, an
evidence-based manifesto for change which captures its commitment and
progress.

 

BAT employs more than 48,000 people and, in 2024, generated revenue of
£25.9bn, with an adjusted profit from operations of £11.9bn.

 

BAT's aim is to have 50 million adult consumers of its Smokeless products by
2030 and generate 50% of its revenue from Smokeless products by 2035. BAT's
portfolio is made up of a growing range of nicotine and smokeless tobacco
products which include its Vapour brand Vuse; Heated Product brand glo; and
Velo, its Modern Oral (nicotine pouch) brand. After only a decade of
investment in these products, the Group has delivered New Category revenue of
£3.4bn in 2024, with strong progress in profitability on a category
contribution level. BAT's portfolio reflects our commitment to meeting the
evolving and varied preferences of today's adult consumers.

 

BAT is also reducing the use of natural resources, improving livelihoods, and
delivering on its climate goals to be Net Zero across its value chain by 2050.
BAT received a Triple A rating from CDP in 2024 for its disclosures on Climate
Change, Water Security, and Forests, showcasing its commitment to
environmental transparency and action.

 

A sustainability rating or award is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold
securities. A sustainability rating or award may be subject to withdrawal or
revision at any time. Each sustainability rating and award should be evaluated
separately of any other sustainability rating. The methodologies of any
sustainability rating or award presented here may not be the same as those of
other sustainability ratings, awards or methodologies that may be used by our
stakeholders and may emphasise different aspects of sustainability practices
and performance, and, thus, may not be representative of our sustainability
performance in all respects.

 

Further information

 

The securities referred to herein will not be, and have not been, registered
under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities
Act") and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration
or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the
Securities Act.

 

Forward-looking statements

 

This release contains certain forward-looking statements, including
"forward-looking" statements made within the meaning of the U.S. Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are often, but not
always, made through the use of words or phrases such as "believe,"
"anticipate," "could," "may," "would," "should," "intend," "plan,"
"potential," "predict," "will," "expect," "estimate," "project," "positioned,"
"strategy," "outlook", "target" and similar expressions. These include
statements regarding our customer target ambition, New Categories revenue
targets and our sustainability targets, as well as statements regarding the
increase in the share buyback programme.

 

All such forward-looking statements involve estimates and assumptions that are
subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors. It is believed that the
expectations reflected in this release are reasonable but they may be affected
by a wide range of variables that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those currently anticipated. A review of the reasons why
actual results and developments may differ materially from the expectations
disclosed or implied within forward-looking statements can be found by
referring to the information contained under the headings "Cautionary
Statement" , "Group Principal Risks" and "Group Risk Factors" in the 2024
Annual Report and Form 20-F of British American Tobacco p.l.c. (BAT).

 

Additional information concerning these and other factors can be found in
BAT's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"),
including the Annual Report on Form 20-F and Current Reports on Form 6-K,
which may be obtained free of charge at the SEC's website, http://www.sec.gov
(http://www.sec.gov) and BAT's Annual Reports, which may be obtained free of
charge from the BAT website www.bat.com (http://www.bat.com) .

 

Past performance is no guide to future performance and persons needing advice
should consult an independent financial adviser. The forward-looking
statements reflect knowledge and information available at the date of
preparation of this release and BAT undertakes no obligation to update or
revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise. Readers are cautioned not to place
undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.

 

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  UPDEAKSPAAPSEEA