{"id":116496,"date":"2026-04-18T18:49:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T16:49:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/batz-secures-shareholder-backing-as-profits-surge"},"modified":"2026-04-18T20:59:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T18:59:10","slug":"batz-secures-shareholder-backing-as-profits-surge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/batz-secures-shareholder-backing-as-profits-surge","title":{"rendered":"BATZ secures shareholder backing as profits surge"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Zimbabwe. <\/strong><\/span>Tobacco manufacturer British American Tobacco Zimbabwe (BATZ) has secured financial support from its shareholder as profits surged, largely driven by accounting gains linked to recognising legacy foreign currency obligations converted into Treasury Bills.<\/p>\n<p>British American Tobacco International Holdings controls BATZ through its 43% stake and is incorporated in the United Kingdom; the remaining 57% of shares are widely held. The ultimate holding company of the group is British American Tobacco Plc, also incorporated in the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n<p>The support comes as BATZ strengthens its balance sheet following improved cash flows, a sharp recovery in profitability, and the resolution of long-standing blocked foreign currency balances, reinforcing confidence in the company\u2019s ability to operate as a going concern through 2026.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe group and company continued to generate positive operating cash flows during the year and into the following year, supported by stable domestic demand, effective working capital management, improved access to foreign currency, and a continued positive cash flow position,\u201d BATZ said in its annual report for 2025.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe group and company have no overdraft facilities or external borrowings, and operational and capital expenditure requirements continue to be funded from internally generated resources.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>BATZ added: \u201cIn addition, the directors have obtained a formal letter of support from the shareholder confirming the availability of financial support through to 2026, further reinforcing the appropriateness of the going concern assumption.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>BATZ reported cash at bank and on hand of US$7,36 million at the end of the review period, up from US$2,13 million in the prior year.<\/p>\n<p>The directors said they had considered the group\u2019s financial performance, liquidity position, settlement of blocked funds, reduction in foreign liabilities, and expected cash-flow forecasts when assessing the company\u2019s ability to continue operating.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBased on this assessment, the directors believe that the group and company have adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future and are therefore a going concern,\u201d BATZ said.<\/p>\n<p>For the year ended December 31, 2025, BATZ recorded a profit after tax of US$11,53 million, compared to a prior-year loss of US$757 432.<\/p>\n<p>The improvement was driven by accounting gains following the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe\u2019s settlement of previously registered blocked funds amounting to US$16,4 million during the period, with the government issuing Treasury Bill No. 6831960, maturing on September 19, 2050.<\/p>\n<p>Consequently, BATZ derecognised the blocked funds asset and recognised the Treasury Bill at amortised cost, in line with International Financial Reporting Standard 9 requirements under a hold-to-collect model.<\/p>\n<p>This reclassification removed uncertainty over recoverability, eliminated associated liquidity and settlement risks, and supported the group\u2019s return to profitability, while strengthening the basis for shareholder support.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDespite the challenging operating conditions, and in recognition of the company\u2019s commitment to delivering value to shareholders, the board has recommended a final dividend of US$0,22 per share, subject to approval at the forthcoming annual general meeting,\u201d BATZ chairperson Lovemore Manatsa said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile currency volatility, inflationary pressure, and power shortages remain key risks, ongoing regulatory reforms and policy stability create opportunities for sustainable growth. The board remains cautiously optimistic that the company\u2019s strengthened operational foundations, improved governance structures and sustainability focus will continue to drive long-term value creation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Zimbabwe<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Zimbabwe. Tobacco manufacturer British American Tobacco Zimbabwe (BATZ) has secured financial support from its shareholder as profits surged, largely driven by accounting gains linked to recognising legacy foreign currency obligations converted into Treasury Bills. British American Tobacco International Holdings controls BATZ through its 43% stake and is incorporated in the United Kingdom; the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":116495,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,6,8,35,2715],"tags":[19],"class_list":["post-116496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","category-head-lines","category-homepage-english","category-to-homepage","tag-zimbabwe"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>BATZ secures shareholder backing as profits surge - zimbabwe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Tobacco manufacturer British American Tobacco Zimbabwe (BATZ) has secured financial support from its shareholder as prof ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/batz-secures-shareholder-backing-as-profits-surge\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BATZ secures shareholder backing as profits surge\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Tobacco manufacturer British American Tobacco Zimbabwe (BATZ) has secured financial support from its shareholder as prof ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/batz-secures-shareholder-backing-as-profits-surge\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"zimbabwe\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-18T16:49:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-18T18:59:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/sites\/14\/2026\/04\/sm_1776538673.313926.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"683\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/batz-secures-shareholder-backing-as-profits-surge#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/batz-secures-shareholder-backing-as-profits-surge\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"BATZ secures shareholder backing as profits surge\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-18T16:49:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-18T18:59:10+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/batz-secures-shareholder-backing-as-profits-surge\"},\"wordCount\":534,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/batz-secures-shareholder-backing-as-profits-surge#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/sites\/14\/2026\/04\/sm_1776538673.313926.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Zimbabwe\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Economy\",\"head lines\",\"homepage-english\",\"to-homepage\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/batz-secures-shareholder-backing-as-profits-surge#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/batz-secures-shareholder-backing-as-profits-surge\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/batz-secures-shareholder-backing-as-profits-surge\",\"name\":\"BATZ secures shareholder backing as profits surge - zimbabwe\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/batz-secures-shareholder-backing-as-profits-surge#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/batz-secures-shareholder-backing-as-profits-surge#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/sites\/14\/2026\/04\/sm_1776538673.313926.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-18T16:49:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-18T18:59:10+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"Tobacco manufacturer British American Tobacco Zimbabwe (BATZ) has secured financial support from its shareholder as prof ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/batz-secures-shareholder-backing-as-profits-surge#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/batz-secures-shareholder-backing-as-profits-surge\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/batz-secures-shareholder-backing-as-profits-surge#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/sites\/14\/2026\/04\/sm_1776538673.313926.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/sites\/14\/2026\/04\/sm_1776538673.313926.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":683,\"caption\":\"BATZ secures shareholder backing as profits surge\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/batz-secures-shareholder-backing-as-profits-surge#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"BATZ secures shareholder backing as profits surge\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/\",\"name\":\"zimbabwe\",\"description\":\"\u0623\u062e\u0628\u0627\u0631 \u064a\u0648\u0645\u064a\u0629 \u0639\u0644\u0649 \u0645\u062f\u0627\u0631 \u0627\u0644\u0633\u0627\u0639\u0629\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"BATZ secures shareholder backing as profits surge - zimbabwe","description":"Tobacco manufacturer British American Tobacco Zimbabwe (BATZ) has secured financial support from its shareholder as prof ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/batz-secures-shareholder-backing-as-profits-surge","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"BATZ secures shareholder backing as profits surge","og_description":"Tobacco manufacturer British American Tobacco Zimbabwe (BATZ) has secured financial support from its shareholder as prof ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/batz-secures-shareholder-backing-as-profits-surge","og_site_name":"zimbabwe","article_published_time":"2026-04-18T16:49:09+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-18T18:59:10+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":683,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/sites\/14\/2026\/04\/sm_1776538673.313926.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/batz-secures-shareholder-backing-as-profits-surge#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/batz-secures-shareholder-backing-as-profits-surge"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"BATZ secures shareholder backing as profits surge","datePublished":"2026-04-18T16:49:09+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-18T18:59:10+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/batz-secures-shareholder-backing-as-profits-surge"},"wordCount":534,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/batz-secures-shareholder-backing-as-profits-surge#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/sites\/14\/2026\/04\/sm_1776538673.313926.jpg","keywords":["Zimbabwe"],"articleSection":["all news","Economy","head lines","homepage-english","to-homepage"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/batz-secures-shareholder-backing-as-profits-surge#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/batz-secures-shareholder-backing-as-profits-surge","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/batz-secures-shareholder-backing-as-profits-surge","name":"BATZ secures shareholder backing as profits surge - zimbabwe","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/batz-secures-shareholder-backing-as-profits-surge#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/batz-secures-shareholder-backing-as-profits-surge#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/sites\/14\/2026\/04\/sm_1776538673.313926.jpg","datePublished":"2026-04-18T16:49:09+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-18T18:59:10+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"Tobacco manufacturer British American Tobacco Zimbabwe (BATZ) has secured financial support from its shareholder as prof ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/batz-secures-shareholder-backing-as-profits-surge#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/batz-secures-shareholder-backing-as-profits-surge"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/batz-secures-shareholder-backing-as-profits-surge#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/sites\/14\/2026\/04\/sm_1776538673.313926.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/sites\/14\/2026\/04\/sm_1776538673.313926.jpg","width":1024,"height":683,"caption":"BATZ secures shareholder backing as profits surge"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/batz-secures-shareholder-backing-as-profits-surge#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"BATZ secures shareholder backing as profits surge"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/","name":"zimbabwe","description":"\u0623\u062e\u0628\u0627\u0631 \u064a\u0648\u0645\u064a\u0629 \u0639\u0644\u0649 \u0645\u062f\u0627\u0631 \u0627\u0644\u0633\u0627\u0639\u0629","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116496","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116496"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116496\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":116504,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116496\/revisions\/116504"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}