British American Tobacco To Introduce Quarterly Dividend Payments From 2018

(RTTNews) - British American Tobacco plc (BATS.L) on Wednesday announced the proposed interim dividend timetable for the year ending December 31, 2017 and the introduction of quarterly dividend payments from 2018.

The company noted that with effect from 2018, it will move to four interim quarterly dividend payments. The dividend amount will be announced as part of the Preliminary Results announcement for the year ending 31 December 2017 in February 2018 and will be paid in four equal instalments in May 2018, August 2018, November 2018 and February 2019.

The company would announce an additional interim dividend in December 2017 for payment in February 2018 and will be calculated as 25% of the total cash dividend paid in 2017.

It is part of the transition to quarterly dividend payments, and to ensure shareholders receive the equivalent amount of total cash payments in 2018 as they would have under the previous payment policy.

According to the firm, quarterly dividends will provide shareholders with a more regular flow of dividend income and will allow the Company to spread its substantial dividend payments more evenly over the year.

The company maintained its policy to pay dividends of 65% of long-term sustainable earnings.