Last checked at 30 Apr 2020 16:00
BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO p.l.c.
RESULTS OF VOTING AT THE 2020 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
The Annual General Meeting of British American Tobacco p.l.c. was held at Globe House, 4 Temple Place, London WC2R 2PG on 30 April 2020.
The tables below set out the results of the poll on each of the total of 20 Resolutions as stated in the Notice of Meeting dated 26 March 2020. All valid proxy votes (whether submitted electronically or in hard copy form) were included in the poll taken at the Meeting. Each shareholder, present in person or by proxy, was entitled to one vote per ordinary share of 25p held.
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Resolution 8 |
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Re-election of Dr Marion Helmes as a Director |
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For - Note (b) | 1,442,383,287 | ||
Percent of Votes Cast | 82.50% | ||
Percent of Issued Share Capital | 62.87% | ||
Against | 305,924,198 | ||
Percent of Votes Cast | 17.50% | ||
Percent of Issued Share Capital | 13.33% | ||
Total Votes Cast (Excl. Votes Withheld) | 1,748,307,485 | ||
Percent of Issued Share Capital | 76.21% | ||
Votes Withheld - Note (c) | 1,309,217 | ||
Resolution 9 |
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Re-election of Luc Jobin as a Director |
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For - Note (b) | 1,744,591,256 | ||
Percent of Votes Cast | 99.79% | ||
Percent of Issued Share Capital | 76.04% | ||
Against | 3,720,551 | ||
Percent of Votes Cast | 0.21% | ||
Percent of Issued Share Capital | 0.16% | ||
Total Votes Cast (Excl. Votes Withheld) | 1,748,311,807 | ||
Percent of Issued Share Capital | 76.21% | ||
Votes Withheld - Note (c) | 1,304,895 | ||
Resolution 10 |
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Re-election of Holly Keller Koeppel as a Director |
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For - Note (b) | 1,737,209,181 |
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Percent of Votes Cast | 99.37% |
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Percent of Issued Share Capital | 75.72% |
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Against | 11,060,683 |
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Percent of Votes Cast | 0.63% |
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Percent of Issued Share Capital | 0.48% |
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Total Votes Cast (Excl. Votes Withheld) | 1,748,269,864 |
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Percent of Issued Share Capital | 76.20% |
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Votes Withheld - Note (c) | 1,346,837 |
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Resolution 11 |
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Re-election of Savio Kwan as a Director |
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For - Note (b) | 1,574,429,906 |
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Percent of Votes Cast | 90.06% |
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Percent of Issued Share Capital | 68.63% |
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Against | 173,860,989 |
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Percent of Votes Cast | 9.94% |
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Percent of Issued Share Capital | 7.58% |
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Total Votes Cast (Excl. Votes Withheld) | 1,748,290,895 |
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Percent of Issued Share Capital | 76.20% |
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Votes Withheld - Note (c) | 1,325,807 |
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Resolution 12 |
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Re-election of Dimitri Panayotopoulos as a Director |
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For - Note (b) | 1,557,526,215 |
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Percent of Votes Cast | 89.17% |
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Percent of Issued Share Capital | 67.89% |
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Against | 189,154,129 |
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Percent of Votes Cast | 10.83% |
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Percent of Issued Share Capital | 8.24% |
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Total Votes Cast (Excl. Votes Withheld) | 1,746,680,344 |
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Percent of Issued Share Capital | 76.13% |
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Votes Withheld - Note (c) | 2,936,358 |
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Resolution 13 |
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Election of Jeremy Fowden as a Director |
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For - Note (b) | 1,743,843,438 |
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Percent of Votes Cast | 99.75% |
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Percent of Issued Share Capital | 76.01% |
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Against | 4,432,406 |
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Percent of Votes Cast | 0.25% |
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Percent of Issued Share Capital | 0.19% |
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Total Votes Cast (Excl. Votes Withheld) | 1,748,275,844 |
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Percent of Issued Share Capital | 76.20% |
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Votes Withheld - Note (c) | 1,340,858 |
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Resolution 14 |
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Election of Tadeu Marroco as a Director |
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For - Note (b) | 1,735,186,834 | |||
Percent of Votes Cast | 99.25% | |||
Percent of Issued Share Capital | 75.63% | |||
Against | 13,069,808 | |||
Percent of Votes Cast | 0.75% | |||
Percent of Issued Share Capital | 0.57% | |||
Total Votes Cast (Excl. Votes Withheld) | 1,748,256,642 | |||
Percent of Issued Share Capital | 76.20% | |||
Votes Withheld - Note (c) | 1,360,060 | |||
Resolution 15 |
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Renewal of Directors' authority to allot shares |
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For - Note (b) | 1,265,356,664 |
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Percent of Votes Cast | 72.38% |
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Percent of Issued Share Capital | 55.15% |
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Against | 482,742,343 |
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Percent of Votes Cast | 27.62% |
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Percent of Issued Share Capital | 21.04% |
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Total Votes Cast (Excl. Votes Withheld) | 1,748,099,007 |
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Percent of Issued Share Capital | 76.20% |
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Votes Withheld - Note (c) | 1,517,694 |
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Resolution 16 - Note (d) |
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Renewal of Directors' authority to disapply pre-emption rights |
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For - Note (b) | 1,468,920,343 |
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Percent of Votes Cast | 84.04% |
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Percent of Issued Share Capital | 64.03% |
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Against | 278,978,193 |
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Percent of Votes Cast | 15.96% |
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Percent of Issued Share Capital | 12.16% |
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Total Votes Cast (Excl. Votes Withheld) | 1,747,898,536 |
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Percent of Issued Share Capital | 76.19% |
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Votes Withheld - Note (c) | 1,718,159 |
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Resolution 17 - Note (d) |
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Authority for the Company to purchase its own shares |
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For - Note (b) | 1,701,849,997 |
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Percent of Votes Cast | 97.37% |
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Percent of Issued Share Capital | 74.18% |
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Against | 46,037,064 |
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Percent of Votes Cast | 2.63% |
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Percent of Issued Share Capital | 2.01% |
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Total Votes Cast (Excl. Votes Withheld) | 1,747,887,061 |
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Percent of Issued Share Capital | 76.19% |
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Votes Withheld - Note (c) | 1,729,639 |
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Resolution 18 |
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Approval of the British American Tobacco Restricted Share Plan |
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For - Note (b) | 1,649,978,029 |
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Percent of Votes Cast | 94.40% |
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Percent of Issued Share Capital | 71.92% |
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Against | 97,967,371 |
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Percent of Votes Cast | 5.60% |
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Percent of Issued Share Capital | 4.27% |
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Total Votes Cast (Excl. Votes Withheld) | 1,747,945,400 |
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Percent of Issued Share Capital | 76.19% |
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Votes Withheld - Note (c) | 1,665,229 |
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Resolution 19 |
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Authority to make donations to political organisations and to incur political expenditure |
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For - Note (b) | 1,585,976,112 |
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Percent of Votes Cast | 90.74% |
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Percent of Issued Share Capital | 69.13% |
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Against | 161,774,633 |
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Percent of Votes Cast | 9.26% |
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Percent of Issued Share Capital | 7.05% |
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Total Votes Cast (Excl. Votes Withheld) | 1,747,750,745 |
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Percent of Issued Share Capital | 76.18% |
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Votes Withheld - Note (c) | 1,862,566 |
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Resolution 20 - Note (d) |
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Notice period for General Meetings |
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For - Note (b) | 1,568,197,534 |
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Percent of Votes Cast | 89.70% |
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Percent of Issued Share Capital | 68.35% |
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Against | 180,156,371 |
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Percent of Votes Cast | 10.30% |
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Percent of Issued Share Capital | 7.85% |
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Total Votes Cast (Excl. Votes Withheld) | 1,748,353,905 |
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Percent of Issued Share Capital | 76.21% |
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Votes Withheld - Note (c) | 1,262,797 |
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Notes:
(a) The total number of ordinary shares in issue (excluding treasury shares) at the close of business on Wednesday 29 April 2020 was 2,294,203,487.
(b) Includes discretionary votes.
(c) A vote withheld is not a vote in law and is not counted in the calculation of the proportion of votes 'For' or 'Against' a resolution.
(d) In accordance with Listing Rules 9.6.2R and 9.6.3R, copies of the resolutions numbered 16, 17 and 20 will be submitted to the National Storage Mechanism as soon as practicable and will be available for inspection at https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism. A copy of the resolutions may also be obtained from the Notice of Meeting which is available on the Company's website at www.bat.com/agm.
All resolutions were passed at the Company's Annual General Meeting today with the requisite majority of votes.
Resolution 2 - Directors' Remuneration Report
In respect of resolution 2 (Directors' Remuneration Report), we acknowledge that a significant minority of shareholders chose not to support this resolution.
This year, as with every year, the Remuneration Committee has given careful consideration to executive remuneration. Our executive remuneration arrangements are fully in line with our Directors' Remuneration Policy which was approved by a significant majority of our shareholders at our 2019 Annual General Meeting with 92.6% of votes in favour of the policy.
However, the views of all our shareholders are important to us and we will continue to listen to their views to better understand the specific concerns of those who voted against this resolution. Prior to today's Annual General Meeting, we engaged with a number of our shareholders on our executive remuneration arrangements and we will continue to actively engage shareholders on this important topic during 2020.
Resolution 15 - Authority to allot shares
We acknowledge that a number of our shareholders did not support this resolution. It remains standard market practice for many UK FTSE listed companies to retain this type of authority. As we have previously reported, the authority sought by the Company is in accordance with the UK Investment Association's share capital management guidelines and prevailing voting guidelines of leading corporate governance agencies applicable to UK listed companies.
However, we remain aware that some institutional investors, particularly outside the UK, have specific policies against supporting this type of resolution. Following the outcome of today's vote, we will continue our ongoing engagement with shareholders for which this authority presents concern and will keep best practice in this area under review.
P McCrory
Secretary
British American Tobacco p.l.c.
30 April 2020
Enquiries:
Investor Relations
Mike Nightingale/Victoria Buxton/William Houston/John Harney
+44 20 7845 1180/2012/1138/1263
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