Key Takeaways

  • British American Tobacco said in a press release Tuesday that Chief Financial Officer Soraya Benchikh stepped down from the role the same day, after serving for only about 15 months.
  • The London-based tobacco maker, whose brands include Lucky Strike, Camel, and Newport, has appointed Javed Iqbal, its digital and information director, as interim CFO. This marks the second time Iqbal has taken on the interim finance chief role. The company has initiated a search for a permanent successor, and Benchikh will remain in her position until December 31 to ensure a smooth transition.
  • "I am proud of the significant progress we have made since I joined BAT, as reflected in our recent results," Benchikh said in the statement. She noted that "further strengthening financial discipline" and putting the company's "new categories" segment "on a path to value-accretive margins and sustainable profitability" were key contributors to this progress.

Deeper Dive

Benchikh spent 21 years at BAT, serving as CEO and regional director of its South African subsidiary. According to the company's press release at the time, she rejoined the company and took on the role of finance chief last May, succeeding Iqbal, who had been serving in the position on an interim basis since May 2023.

Her departure from the CFO role comes about a month after the global tobacco company released its first-half financial update for the period ending June 30. According to a July 31 press release, the company's U.S. market saw growth in both revenue and profit for the first time since 2022.

The company's performance has been largely driven by rising demand for its "new categories" brands, which include vapor products, oral nicotine pouches, and heated tobacco products. According to the first-half update, revenue from new categories reached £1.65 billion, up 2.4% year-over-year on a constant currency basis. Meanwhile, smokeless products now account for 18.2% of group revenue, up 70 basis points from the full year 2024.

In a statement accompanying Tuesday's press release, CEO Tadeu Marroco reiterated that the company is "firmly on track" to meet its full-year 2025 guidance, expecting revenue growth to reach the upper end of the 1%-2% range, according to the July update.

"With the right strategy, we intend to continue delivering BAT's transformation to profitability, as reflected in the targets we have set for 2026 and beyond," Marroco said. "We will report on continued progress in our December pre-close update."

The global tobacco company also reported a 19.1% increase in operating profit for the six-month period, partly attributed to "an update to the Canadian settlement provision," while the prior-year period was negatively impacted by related non-recurring charges.

In March, BAT's affiliates, along with Philip Morris International and Japan Tobacco, agreed to collectively pay $22.73 billion to settle smoking-related litigation in Canada, ending a decades-long dispute that began in 1998. According to The Wall Street Journal, these class actions represented over one million people and alleged that cigarette manufacturers should be held responsible for concealing the dangers of smoking and selling harmful products.

Also in March, the Ontario Superior Court approved a court-approved plan for BAT subsidiary Imperial Tobacco Canada Limited (ITCAN). ITCAN sought creditor protection in March 2019 under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) and negotiated settlements for pending tobacco-related litigation under a supervised mediation process. According to the press release, the approved plan resolves all such litigation and provides ITCAN with a "full and complete release."

"After six years of negotiations, today's decision is an important step that brings ITCAN closer to exiting the CCAA proceedings, benefiting all stakeholders," CEO Marroco said in a March 7 press release. "Along with our Canadian subsidiary, we remain committed to working with all parties to implement the plan and complete this process."

BAT declined to comment further beyond its press release.