BAT reveals second interim dividend ahead of quarterly move

The dividend will be payable on 8 February to shareholders registered on either the UK main register or the South Africa branch register on 29 December, with a payment date of 13 February for holders of American Depositary Shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

The dollar exchange rate will be calculated based on the exchange rate on 8 February, with the amount of the dividend in South African rand, the exchange rate and the associated conversion date to be published on 15 December, together with South Africa dividends tax information.

In April the maker of Dunhill and Pall Mall cigarettes said it would move to quarterly dividends from 1 January 2018, with this announcement in December providing a transition to quarterly dividend payments, and to ensure shareholders receive the equivalent amount of total cash payments in 2018 as they would have under the previous payment policy.

The full dividend amount for 2018 will be announced until the preliminary results announcement for the year ending 31 December 2017 in February and then paid in four equal instalments in May 2018, August 2018, November 2018 and February 2019.

In October, three months after completing the major US acquisition of Reynolds American, management reported that the group was performing well and expects a good year of earnings growth irrespective of currency movements, with business tough in markets such as Russia but recent developments more encouraging.

The company revealed that it now expects to make more than £5bn a year in revenue from e-cigarettes and other so-called next generation products within five years.