British American Tobacco (M) Bhd's (BAT) pre-tax profit for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2010 fell to RM222.58 million from RM234.50 million in the same period last year.

Revenue, however, rose to RM993.59 million from RM919.19 million previously.

For the nine-month period, its pre-tax profit fell to RM730.75 million from RM777.42 million in the same period last year.
Revenue, however, increased to RM3.00 billion from RM2.90 billion.

In a statement here today, BAT said the lower profit was due to the unfavourable pack size mix which resulted from the withdrawal of packs less than 20 sticks that offset gains from volumes and higher net pricing.

Nevertheless, BAT said it expected the financial results for the year to be satisfactory. It said its porfolio of brands continued to show commendable performance.

'As the year to date September market share stood at 60.2 per cent, an increase of 0.7 percentage point in comparison to the same period last year.

'The growth in market share was attributed to the group's new offering, Peter Stuyversant International, which registered 2.6 per cent market share since its launch in June this year,' it said.

Its managing director, William Toh, said BAT hoped the government would take serious measures to curb the growth of illicit cigarettes.

'The latest study, commissioned by the Confederation of Malaysian Tobacco Manufacturers for March-May this year, has revealed a further increase to 39.7 per cent.

'This literally means that four out of every ten packs consumed in this country are smuggled,' he said. -- Bernama