BAT Industries Profits Fall 11%

Tobacco and financial services group BAT Industries PLC said today that its profits fell 11% in the first half of the year due largely to huge insurance claims for storm damage last winter in Britain.

The company, Britain’s fourth largest, announced pretax profits of $1.1 billion for the year to June 30 against $1.3 billion for the first half of 1989.

Operating profits from BAT’s financial services, including its insurance units, Farmers Group in California and Eagle Star and Allied Dunbar in Britain, plummeted to $486 million from $782 million in the first six months of last year.

But BAT, whose initials refer to its roots as British American Tobacco, managed a big gain in its tobacco units, whose operating profit jumped to $896 million from $754 million.