(3 Minutes Read)
The cigarette maker’s HY2025 net revenue came in at KSh 11.7 billion, flat from HY2024 and well below the KSh 14.1 billion high in 2022. Gross revenue fell to KSh 18.5 billion, extending a three-year slide as the company’s legal sales have steadily weakened due to aggressive excise tax hikes and the surge in untaxed cigarette sales.
British American Tobacco Kenya (BAT Kenya) has reported its half-year results for the period ended 30 June 2025, highlighting a sharp divergence between shrinking sales, rising profits, and an unprecedented dividend increase.
The cigarette maker’s HY2025 net revenue came in at KSh 11.7 billion, flat from HY2024 and well below the KSh 14.1 billion high in 2022. Gross revenue fell to KSh 18.5 billion, extending a three-year slide as the company’s legal sales have steadily weakened due to aggressive excise tax hikes and the surge in untaxed cigarette sales.
According to management, illicit products now make up 37% of Kenya’s market, up from 26% just two years ago, and are a key reason the business has not regained volumes.
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BAT has been flagging this as the single biggest risk to revenue, with KSh 9 billion lost annually to the exchequer. With consumer incomes under pressure and enforcement still weak, the trend is unlikely to reverse soon.
