Tobacco: Power cuts hit BAT’s output

BRITISH American Tobacco (BAT), the world’s No 2 cigarette maker, was losing as much as 10 percent of its South African output due to power cuts, the head of domestic operations Arturo Rodriguez said yesterday. South Africa is in the middle of its worst electricity crisis since 2008 and its citizens and businesses are subjected to frequent controlled blackouts, which state utility Eskom implements to prevent the grid from collapsing. – Reuters