Board and Committee Changes

PRESS RELEASE

06 FEBRUARY 2024

Board and Committee Changes

The Company announces that Sue Farr and Dimitri Panayotopoulos will step down from the Board with effect from the conclusion of the Company's AGM on 24 April 2024 having served as Non-Executive Directors for nine years.

As a result of these departures, the Company announces changes to the role of Senior Independent Director and to the composition of the Audit and Remuneration Committees.

With effect from the conclusion of the Company's AGM on 24 April 2024:

  •  Holly Keller Koeppel will be appointed as Senior Independent Director, succeeding Sue Farr. Holly has been a Non-Executive Director of the Company since July 2017 and she is currently Chair of the Audit Committee and a member of the Nominations Committee.
  •  Darrell Thomas will be appointed as Chair of the Audit Committee, succeeding Holly Keller Koeppel, who will remain a member of the Audit Committee.
  •  Kandy Anand will be appointed as Chair of the Remuneration Committee, succeeding Dimitri Panayotopoulos.
     

Commenting of the changes, Luc Jobin, said: "I would like to thank both Sue and Dimitri for their extensive contribution to the Board over their tenures. I would also like to thank Holly for chairing the Audit Committee since 2019. I look forward to welcoming Holly, Darrell and Kandy to their new roles."

From the conclusion of the 2024 AGM, the memberships of the Company's Audit and Remuneration Committees will be:

Audit Committee Remuneration Committee
Chair: Darrell Thomas Chair: Kandy Anand
Holly Keller Koeppel Murray S. Kessler
Karen Guerra Serpil Timuray
Véronique Laury  


The above proposals are subject to re-election of each of the Directors at the 2024 AGM.

This announcement is made in accordance with LR 9.6.11.


Enquiries

 

Media Centre
+44 (0) 20 7845 2888 (24 hours)  | @BATplc 

Investor Relations
Victoria Buxton: +44 (0)20 7845 2012
Amy Chamberlain: +44 (0)20 7845 1124
Yetunde Ibe: +44 (0)20 7845 1095
John Harney: +44 (0)20 7845 1263
Jane Henderson: +44 (0)20 7845 1117

Forward looking statements


References in this announcement to ‘BAT’, ‘Group’, ‘we’, ‘us’ and ‘our’ when denoting opinion refer to British American Tobacco p.l.c. (BAT PLC) and when denoting business activity refer to BAT Group operating companies, collectively or individually as the case may be.

This announcement does not constitute an invitation to underwrite, subscribe for, or otherwise acquire or dispose of any BAT PLC shares or other securities. This announcement contains certain forward-looking statements, including “forward-looking” statements made within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are often, but not always, made through the use of words or phrases such as “believe,” “anticipate,” “could,” “may,” “would,” “should,” “intend,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “will,” “expect,” “estimate,” “project,” “positioned,” “strategy,” “outlook”, “target” and similar expressions. In particular, these forward-looking statements include statements regarding (i) the bullets under “On track to deliver FY guidance; strategic discipline and focused investment driving positive early momentum”, (ii) the Group's expectations for revenue and adjusted profit from operations growth in 2024,  on an organic basis at constant rates, (iii) the Group’s expectations with respect to its investment decisions, (iv) the Group's expectations for New Categories profitability, (v) the Group's expectations for a cash conversion in excess of 90%, (vi) the Group’s expectations for revenue and adjusted operating profit growth, on an organic basis at constant rates by 2026, (vii) the Group's expectations to roll out its products in further markets in 2024, (viii) the Group’s leverage range target and expectations for year-end and (ix) statements under the heading “Technical guidance for full year 2024.”

These include statements regarding our intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, amongst other things, our results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth, strategies and the economic and business circumstances occurring from time to time in the countries and markets in which the Group operates.

All such forward-looking statements involve estimates and assumptions that are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors. It is believed that the expectations reflected in this announcement are reasonable but they may be affected by a wide range of variables that could cause actual results and performance to differ materially from those currently anticipated.

Among the key factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements are uncertainties related to the following: the impact of competition from illicit trade; the impact of adverse domestic or international legislation and regulation; the inability to develop, commercialise and deliver the Group's New Categories strategy; the impact of supply chain disruptions; adverse litigation and dispute outcomes and the effect of such outcomes on the Group's financial condition; the impact of significant increases or structural changes in tobacco, nicotine and New Categories related taxes; translational and transactional foreign exchange rate exposure; changes or differences in domestic or international economic or political conditions; the ability to maintain credit ratings and to fund the business under the current capital structure; the impact of serious injury, illness or death in the workplace; adverse decisions by domestic or international regulatory bodies; changes in the market position, businesses, financial condition, results of operations or prospects of the Group; direct and indirect adverse impacts associated with climate change and the move towards a circular economy; and cyber security risks caused by the heightened cyber-threat landscape, and the increased digital interaction with consumers, and changes to regulation.

Past performance is no guide to future performance and persons needing advice should consult an independent financial adviser. The forward-looking statements reflect knowledge and information available at the date of preparation of this announcement and BAT undertakes no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.

No statement in this announcement is intended to be a profit forecast and no statement in this announcement should be interpreted to mean that earnings per share of BAT PLC for the current or future financial years would necessarily match or exceed the historical published earnings per share of BAT PLC.

Additional information concerning these and other factors can be found in BAT PLC filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the Annual Report on Form 20-F and Current Reports on Form 6-K, which may be obtained free of charge at the SEC’s website.