British American Tobacco profits jump on Asian growth and blasts regulation Richard Burrows, chairman, said: "The expansion of illicit trade is a continuing and growing threat to the business. Sharp increases in excise duty, pressure on consumers' disposable income, ill-considered regulation of our industry, are all making life easier and more lucrative for traders of illicit products, both contraband and counterfeit. "Our results for the year are driven by revenue growth, an improved operating margin, and growth in market share due to our successful brands, enhanced by the roll-out of product and packaging innovations," said Mr Burrows. The increase in performance was driven largely by growth in BAT's Asian division. The company said it expected the global market for cigarettes to remain stable at 5.5 trillion cigarettes, more than 40pc of which are sold in China. Profits were up across the company's four main areas - Asia-Pacific, Americas, Western Europe and EEMEA (Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa). However, Asian profits at £1.5bn, overtook Americas at £1.4bn. The company continued to protest at the introduction of plain packaging for cigarettes, warning it would only help the counterfeit market. Nicandro Durante, chief executive, said that while the company supported some measures introduced by the World Health Organisation's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), others risked increasing illicit trade. He said: "We remain critical of other measures proposed by the FCTC that may drive significant excise increases, retail display bans and plain packaging - all of these measures could play into the hands of organised crime by creating ideal conditions for further increases in illicit trade." Of the company's main brands, Dunhill saw a slight rise in volumes, Kent was up 10pc, Lucky Strike up 14pc and Pall Mall up 11pc. The results are the first with Mr Durante in charge. He took over in February last year when Paul Adams stepped down. The company said the raised dividend would allow it to continue its policy of paying out 65pc of earnings in dividends.