A dominant, cash-rich cigarette maker with almost no debt and a long dividend record — but profit and the dividend both fell sharply in 2025.

British American Tobacco Bangladesh (BATBC) makes and sells cigarettes and tobacco products across the country. It is part of the global British American Tobacco group, which — through the sponsors — holds about 72.91% of the shares.

It has been listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange since 1977, making it one of the oldest listed companies. It has 54 crore shares and a paid-up capital of ৳540 crore, along with large accumulated reserves of about ৳5,006 crore built up over many years.

By the size of its sales and profit it is one of the biggest companies on the market — revenue reached about ৳9,945 crore in 2024. The exchange lists it under "Food & Allied," but its actual business is tobacco.

The company earns by selling cigarettes and tobacco products to millions of everyday buyers through shops across Bangladesh. Because people buy these products regularly, sales tend to be steady year after year. Revenue grew each year from about ৳7,483 crore in 2021 to ৳9,945 crore in 2024.

A large part of what it earns turns into profit. In 2024 its operating profit — the profit from the core business before some other items — was about ৳3,627 crore on that ৳9,945 crore of sales. Strong, familiar brands and only a handful of big players in the industry give it room to keep prices firm.

Tobacco is one of the most heavily taxed and tightly regulated industries anywhere, so government policy and duty changes have a big effect on how much finally reaches the bottom line. This is a built-in feature of the business to keep in mind.

For years the company made strong and growing profits. Net profit rose from about ৳1,089 crore in 2020 to roughly ৳1,750–1,790 crore in 2022, 2023 and 2024. That is a large, dependable earnings base.

Then 2025 was very different: net profit fell to about ৳584 crore, and profit per share dropped to ৳10.81 from ৳32.42 in 2024. Over the whole 2020-to-2025 stretch, total profit is down about 46%, with almost all of that fall concentrated in 2025.

One note on the per-share numbers: profit per share looks like it fell from ৳60.48 in 2020 to the ৳30s afterward, but a big part of that is because the company gave out bonus shares (a 200% stock dividend) in 2020, which greatly increased the number of shares. The real earnings story is the total-profit trend — steady for years, then a sharp decline in 2025.

The balance sheet is one of its biggest strengths. The company carries essentially no bank loans — total borrowing was just about ৳67 crore against shareholders' money of roughly ৳5,772 crore at the end of 2024, so debt is a tiny fraction of its own funds.

It also holds a healthy cash pile — about ৳896 crore at the end of 2024 — and has built up reserves of roughly ৳5,006 crore over the years. Its core business normally throws off cash: operating cash flow was about ৳1,732 crore in 2024.

Because it barely borrows and keeps cash on hand, it is well placed to survive a weak year like 2025 without financial strain. One thing to watch is that cash generation has been lumpy from year to year, and some recent quarters showed weak operating cash flow.

The company has a long record of paying a cash dividend every year, which is one reason income-focused investors have liked it. On its ৳10 face-value share it paid 600% (৳60) in 2020, 275% (৳27.5) in 2021, 200% (৳20) in 2022, 100% (৳10) in 2023 and 300% (৳30) in 2024.

In 2025 the dividend was cut hard: just 30% of face value, or ৳3 per share — its smallest in years. This followed the drop in profit; the company paid out ৳3 of the ৳10.81 it earned per share and kept the rest.

So the dividend habit is well established and, in good years, generous — but it clearly moves with profit, and 2025 shows it can fall a long way when earnings fall.

Its main edge is scale and market position. As a cigarette maker in a market with only a handful of big players, it has strong, well-known brands and steady demand, which give it more power to keep prices firm than most consumer companies have.

It also earns a very high return on the money shareholders have invested: in 2024 it made about ৳1,751 crore of profit on roughly ৳5,772 crore of shareholders' funds. Among the food-and-consumer peers in this report — names like Olympic, Apex Foods, Lovello and PRAN's AMCL — BATBC stands out for its enormous scale and, in a normal year, its very high profitability relative to its size.

Behind it stands the global British American Tobacco group, whose sponsors hold about 72.91% of the shares — a strong sign the controlling owner is committed. The main dent in the "special" story is that a single, heavily taxed product category drives everything, and 2025 showed how quickly profit can shrink.

• Rock-solid finances: almost no debt (total borrowing about ৳67 crore in 2024 against ৳5,772 crore of shareholders' funds) and roughly ৳896 crore of cash — it can weather bad years easily.
• Enormous, established business: one of the market's biggest by sales, with revenue around ৳9,945 crore in 2024 and strong, familiar brands.
• Long dividend record: it has paid a cash dividend every year for many years, and in good years the payout has been generous (for example ৳30 per share in 2024).
• Steady everyday demand: cigarettes sell in good times and bad, giving the business a stable base most companies lack.
• Committed owner: the global BAT group's sponsors hold about 72.91%, aligning the controlling owner with the company's future.

• Sharp 2025 downturn: net profit fell to about ৳584 crore from ৳1,751 crore, and profit per share dropped to ৳10.81 from ৳32.42 — the recent trend is clearly down.
• Dividend cut: the 2025 dividend was slashed to ৳3 per share from ৳30, showing the payout can fall a long way when profit falls.
• Heavy tax and regulation: tobacco is one of the most taxed and tightly regulated industries, so government policy changes can hit profits hard and unpredictably.
• One-product reliance: nearly everything depends on cigarette sales, so shifts in demand, health rules or taxes have an outsized effect.
• Auditor caution: the auditor added an "emphasis of matter" note to the 2025 audited accounts — a flag worth understanding before leaning on the latest figures.

This is a large, financially rock-solid company with a decades-long habit of making profits and paying dividends, backed by a global parent. For a patient, long-term investor who wants a big, stable name and steady income in good years, it is the kind of blue-chip business that fits that goal.

The key caveat is timing: 2025 brought a sharp fall in both profit and the dividend, and the industry's heavy taxes and regulation mean earnings can stay bumpy. Whether 2025 was a one-off dip or the start of a tougher stretch is the single most important thing to watch.

More cautious or income-dependent investors should weigh how much the recent dividend cut matters to them. As always, this describes the company; whether today's price is right for you is shown in the live value estimate beside this report.