PETALING JAYA: British American Tobacco (M) Bhd (BAT) recorded a higher third-quarter net profit of RM78.68mil from RM63.74mil in the same quarter a year ago on lowered costs such as operating expenses.

       Its third-quarter revenue fell to RM613.02mil from RM627.52mil in the same quarter a year ago.

       BAT said in the notes accompanying its financial statement that it continued its cost optimisation initiatives and invested in its strategic brands to deliver growth in the quarter. This resulted in an increase in profit from operations of 1% or RM1mil versus the preceding quarter, it said.

       “We are encouraged by our third-quarter performance which marks our third consecutive quarter of financial growth.

       “This growth momentum is a result of an increase in the share of market and volume which improved our revenue and profit from operations,” managing director Nedal Salem said in a statement.

       “Consumer affordability continues to remain under pressure due to the high tobacco tax rate with 57.9% of the market dominated by the black market,” he added.

       Moving forward, BAT said the remainder of the year will see a continued focus on its purpose through measures to sustain the recovery of the legal cigarette market. BAT also said it was hopeful that there would be no tobacco excise increase in Budget 2022.