BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO PLC - Quarterly Dividends for the Year Ended 31 December 2025: Payment No. 2 August 2026 (The August 2026 Dividend)
What this filing means
BTI's August 2026 quarterly dividend to SA branch register shareholders is 1,331.05 SA cents per share, converting the 61.26p sterling interim instalment at £:R=21.7279. The dividend quantum was set when the Board declared a 245.04p FY2025 interim on 12 February 2026, split into four equal 61.26p instalments — this filing is the JSE-mandated rand finalisation, not a fresh declaration. No changes to the sterling amount, payment date or record date from the original February announcement.
BTI is paying its August quarterly dividend to South African shareholders. The dividend amount was decided back in February, when the company announced its half-year dividend and split it into four equal payments. This filing is just the paperwork the JSE requires before paying rand-domiciled shareholders — it converts the UK-pounds amount into rand at today's exchange rate and notes that 20% SA Dividends Tax will be deducted. There is no fresh company news in here.
Bull case
- Board declared 245.04p interim dividend split into four equal 61.26p quarterly instalments, giving shareholders predictable cash returns through February 2027
- The August instalment converts to 1,331.05 SA cents per share at £:R=21.7279, locking in hard-currency-linked rand income ahead of the 14 August payment
Bear case
- Filing is purely mechanical, disclosing only the 245.04p / 61.26p quarterly quantum with no FCF, earnings coverage, or net-debt data, leaving sustainability of the remaining November 2026 and February 2027 instalments unverified against operating performance.
- SA Dividends Tax of 20% immediately withholds 266.21023 cents per share from the gross rand dividend paid to SA branch register holders — a direct, quantified structural yield drag.
AI-generated summary by SENS-AI, based on the original JSE SENS filing.
SENS-AI conclusion
The dividend quantum and timing were set on 12 February 2026, when the Board declared a 245.04p FY2025 interim in four equal 61.26p instalments. This filing is the JSE-mandated rand finalisation for the SA branch register — same sterling amount, same payment dates, restated at £:R=21.7279 with 20% SA Dividends Tax applied. No fresh earnings news, no new commentary on dividend coverage. The structural drag on SA holders (20% withholding on a UK-source 'foreign dividend') is real but pre-existing, not new from this notice. So what: nothing changes materially from this filing; the next test of dividend sustainability remains the next earnings release.
BAT's next earnings release is where the market will test whether the dividend stream set in February remains covered by operating cash.
Evidence from the filing
Board declared 245.04p interim dividend split into four equal 61.26p quarterly instalments, giving shareholders predictable cash returns through February 2027
“the Board had declared an interim dividend of 245.04p per ordinary share of 25p, payable in four equal quarterly instalments of 61.26p per ordinary share in May 2026, August 2026, November 2026 and February 2027”
The August instalment converts to 1,331.05 SA cents per share at £:R=21.7279, locking in hard-currency-linked rand income ahead of the 14 August payment
“A rate of exchange of £:R=21.7279 as at 26 June 2026 (the closing rate on that date as quoted by Bloomberg), results in an equivalent August 2026 Dividend of 1,331.05115 SA cents per ordinary share”
Filing is purely mechanical, disclosing only the 245.04p / 61.26p quarterly quantum with no FCF, earnings coverage, or net-debt data, leaving sustainability of the remaining November 2026 and February 2027 instalments unverified against operating performance.
“the Board had declared an interim dividend of 245.04p per ordinary share of 25p, payable in four equal quarterly instalments of 61.26p per ordinary share in May 2026, August 2026, November 2026 and February 2027”
SA Dividends Tax of 20% immediately withholds 266.21023 cents per share from the gross rand dividend paid to SA branch register holders — a direct, quantified structural yield drag.
“South Africa Dividends Tax (at a rate of 20%), equivalent to 266.21023 cents per ordinary share, will be withheld from the gross August 2026 Dividend paid to shareholders on the South Africa branch register”
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