KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 20 — British American Tobacco (BAT) Malaysia lost RM17.18 billion in market capitalisation since 2014, amid an illicit cigarette trade and the rising popularity of vaping products.
The Edge reported that BAT’s stock fell 7.59 per cent this afternoon to trade at RM12.66, topping the losers’ list on Bursa Malaysia today as it declined to its lowest level since 2003.
The tobacco company’s stock has reportedly fallen about 65 per cent in the past one year, with the current share price further slashing BAT’s market capitalisation to RM3.66 billion, from RM20.84 billion back in January 2014.
According to The Edge, BAT’s stock on January 12, 2014, had hit an all-time high of RM56.80.
Last November, BAT blamed its 28 per cent decline in profit from operations in the third quarter of the year on a year-to-date basis on contraband tobacco products.
The tobacco company also blamed poorer legal cigarette volumes on the rapid growth of vaping in Malaysia, noting that the total legal industry volume declined by 11 per cent in the third quarter of 2019 when compared to the same period in 2018. Malaysia has yet to regulate e-cigarettes and vaping products.
