P.M. BRIEFING : Beleaguered BAT Gains by 38%
BAT Industries PLC, the British conglomerate fighting a takeover bid from Sir James Goldsmith’s Hoylake Investments Ltd., today reported a 38% jump in profits during 1989.
The results were helped by record earnings from the group’s tobacco interests and a near doubling of profits at its financial services division.
BAT said last year’s net income totaled $2.07 billion, compared with $1.5 billion in 1988. The latest results included a $197-million one-time gain from restructurings.
Annual sales increased 25% to $35 billion from $28 billion.
BAT Chairman Patrick Sheehy described the results as excellent in light of the “distractions forced on us by Hoylake.”
The $21-billion Hoylake bid has been suspended while U.S. state insurance regulators review the effect a change of ownership would have on BAT’s Farmers Insurance Group Inc. of Los Angeles.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
