British American Tobacco CFO Soraya Benchikh abruptly stepped down from her role after 15 months, with Javed Iqbal now serving as interim CFO. Benchikh contributed to financial progress, focusing on the company’s “New Categories” product segment. BAT saw revenue and profit in the U.S. market increase for the first time since 2022.

Benchikh rejoined BAT last year as CFO, replacing Iqbal, who had been interim CFO since May 2023. BAT’s strong results are attributed to rising demand for “New Category” brands, with smokeless products now representing 18.2% of group revenue.

BAT remains on track to meet full-year 2025 guidance, expecting revenue growth at the top end of its 1%-2% range. The company reported a 19.1% increase in profit for the six-month period, partly due to an update of the Canadian settlement provision.

BAT, Philip Morris, and Japan Tobacco agreed to pay $22.73 billion to settle smoking-related lawsuits in Canada, ending a long saga dating back to 1998. The Ontario Superior Court sanctioned a court-approved plan for BAT subsidiary Imperial Tobacco Canada Limited, resolving all outstanding tobacco-related litigation.

BAT CEO Marroco emphasized the importance of working with all parties to implement the plan and complete the process. BAT declined to provide further comments beyond its press release.

Read more at Yahoo Finance: British American Tobacco CFO steps down abruptly