#nellynell, if you read the text for the initial ruling, the penalty is ring fenced and to be paid for from future earnings from ITCAN, the parent BATS is not liable, but this offer has yet to be agreed AFAIR, along with the liability split % with the other majors involved..
After an appeal, a Quebec court in 2019 upheld the 2015 decision that awarded smokers in the Canadian province around CD15BN, forcing the Canadian subsidiaries of all the three cigarette makers to seek bankruptcy protection.
The subsidiaries have been under a court-supervised mediation process negotiating a possible settlement since then.
The allocation of the aggregate settlement amount between the tobacco giants remains unresolved
We will have to wait for the final agreement to be certain.. |
You can kiss a special dividend goodbye whilst they have the Canadian judgement to pay for lol |
#nellynell, when the ITC hotels demerger goes through, the proceeds coming back in here will make a good dent in the debt and there is plenty of room for a special too.. :o)
25.07.2024 - We completed the monetisation of a portion of our ITC stake lowering our holding from 29.02% (31.12.2023) to 25.49% at (30.06.2024), partial monetisation of ITC stake enabled the initiation of a sustainable share buy-back programme, with GBP700M in 2024 and 900M coming in 2025.. |
It would make sense to use the proceeds of the upcoming itc hotels demerger to pay down debt. 2025 already has a buyback in place and the Dividend is already very generous. |
I know its the "standard" way of companies explaining debt in terms of EBITDA leverage but for me adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net debt expressed as a metric is often a way of avoiding saying debt has gone up.
Not saying it is in this case as I have not looked.
So if I had to present an explanation of debt in the accounts and it had risen - but I could say the ratio of debt to EBITDA had fallen ... oh guess what I would say its gone down...
Its just like the Chancellor announcing in the budget speech that debt is falling - we know its rising year over year as these days there is never a public sector debt repayment - but they of course caveat the debt is set to fall as a % of GDP or some such.
The problem with the metric is that the cost of servicing that debt is not included in the EBITDA and this can rise much faster than the debt but that is ignored by the metric.... |
Trading statement - 11/12/2024
We expect to be at the high end of our leverage2 target range of 2.0-2.5x adjusted net debt / adjusted EBITDA2 by year-end 2024, also impacted by recent USD strengthening |
FY-2023 net debt -USD34BN with leverage down to 2.6X
H1-2024 net debt -USD33BN, we continue to make good progress on de-leveraging our balance sheet and expect to be within our narrowed leverage target range of 2.0-2.5X adjusted net debt/adjusted EBITDA range by the end of 2024 driven by continued strong cash generation. |
Is net debt falling? |
3000 pence seems to be a stubborn level to cross, we have been on it, above it or bouncing off it since September, see if we can get over for XD this time round, we know the upstream dividends and further buybacks are robust, the share capital is reducing slowly leaving the outstanding shares in issue to be valued at a higher level..
4 equal tax free dividends at both IMB/BATS from 2025 will add up very nicely.. :o) |
Yeah it's Thursday and can we go into it having reached 3060??
Good luck all 👍🏻 |
It's always on Thu |
I thought it was 19th??? |
[edit] next dividend in the pot 18th, XD 19th for another 58.88 pence.. :o) |
Is this going to do exactly what it did last time just before xd? Groundhog day? Fall like a sack of sh1t just before xd or will be see 3000 as a new support? Only santa and his elves know. |
Blimey these ex dividend dates do come fast not that I'm complaining. |
Ex div next week. Nebius is one hell of a change from BATS. |
A war of attrition going on for 3000 |
 AJ Bell: Don’t underestimate BATS headwinds
British American Tobacco (BATS) has managed to grow sales and profits despite the tide turning against smoking and vaping but the headwinds for the industry should not be underestimated, says AJ Bell.
The Citywire Elite Companies AAA-rated owner of Lucky Strike and Pall Mall confirmed it would deliver full-year results in line with guidance as trading in the second half had grown as its move towards smokeless products provided a boost.
‘Despite pressures around tighter regulation, healthcare issues moving up the agenda and governments taking steps to stop young people vaping, British American Tobacco continues to grow its sales and profits,’ said Dan Coatsworth.
‘Admittedly, growth rates for next-generation products haven’t been as strong as some companies would have liked, yet the transition from old to new continues to make progress.’
He said investors are ‘warming to the sector again’ reflected in BATS shares, which have risen 28% this year and rose 0.9% to £29.97 on Wednesday, extending gains to 30.6% over the last year.
‘Just like the oil sector lost fans during the wave of interest in all things ESG a decade ago and then regained supporters, it looks like the tobacco and vaping sector is doing the same,’ said Coatsworth.
‘It’s not that simple. The headwinds for the tobacco and vaping industry must not be underestimated…; That makes shares such as British American Tobacco higher risk than some investors might consider.’ |
Morgan Stanley reiteratets underweight and reduces share price forecast. |
I'm back in.. traded the Lloyd's spike yesterday now in for the divi |
fenners66 @ totally agree, very lazy not to include some figures.
I think it's obvious that NGP not doing so well as expected! |
That update short on figures and comparisons.
Debt expected to be top end of range.Finance charge noted but obviously you want to see what it was last year and see comparative effect. Note much more spent on interest than capital investment.
Lazy not putting comparatives or trying to deflect? |
Steady as she goes |
Inline trading statement but no cigar |
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