Vuse Sales Halt Offset by Cost Controls; BAT Malaysia Reports $17 Million Net Profit in H1

Key points:

·British American Tobacco Malaysia is focusing on the traditional cigarette market in Malaysia and has achieved significant performance growth. 

·In the second quarter, the company's operating profit increased by 38.5% to reach 78 million Malaysian Ringgit (approximately $17.9 million). The Dunhill brand continues to hold a leading position in Malaysia. 

·A decrease in black market tobacco trading has had a positive impact on the company's performance.

【2Firsts News Flash】According to The Star's report on July 28th, British American Tobacco Malaysia Bhd has seen success in its traditional cigarette business, particularly with its flagship brand, Dunhill. The company's performance in the second quarter showed improvement compared to the same period in 2024.

According to the group, the decision to stop operations of the e-cigarette brand Vuse has led to more efficient cost management, a more concentrated product portfolio, and an operating profit increase of 38.5% compared to the same period last year, reaching 78 million ringgit (approximately 17.9 million).

In terms of revenue, British American Tobacco saw a slight decrease in the second quarter of the 2025 fiscal year, reaching RM6.2475 billion (approximately $1.44 billion), compared to RM6.4046 billion (approximately $1.47 billion) during the same period in 2024.

In the first half of the 2025 fiscal year, British American Tobacco reported a net profit of 74.22 million ringgit (approximately $17.07 million), compared to 66.27 million ringgit (approximately $15.24 million) in the same period in the 2024 fiscal year. During this time, revenue decreased from 1.05 billion ringgit (approximately $242 million) in 2024 to 946.74 million ringgit (approximately $218 million).

Nedal Salem, the Managing Director of British American Tobacco Malaysia, stated in a press release:

"Our second quarter performance demonstrated the resilience of our traditional cigarette products, indicating that we are heading in the right strategic direction even in a fiercely competitive market environment. Dunhill continues to maintain its leading position in Malaysia and has gained further momentum this quarter."

In addition, he pointed out that compared to the previous quarter, illegal tobacco trading in the second quarter of the 2025 fiscal year also decreased by 0.4 percentage points to 54.4%.