British American Tobacco profits soar 24%

British American Tobacco, the world\'s second-biggest maker of cigarettes, announced on Thursday a 24-percent hike in annual net profit. Earnings after tax grew to £3.84 billion ($5.84 billion, 4.45 billion euros) in 2012 from net profit totalling £3.1 billion a year earlier, the maker of the Dunhill, Kent, Lucky Strike and Pall Mall brands said in an earnings statement. \"BAT delivered strong profit growth in 2012, achieved through good pricing and an outstanding improvement in operating margin, partially offset by adverse exchange rate movements,\" chairman Richard Burrows added in the statement. \"Despite the difficult trading conditions in many parts of the world, particularly southern Europe, these results demonstrate the company is in excellent shape and we remain confident that our strategy will continue to deliver superior shareholder returns.\"