British American Tobacco said on Wednesday it suffered a £957m ($1.15bn) loss related to the transfer of its Russian business, pushing the cigarette maker's half-year profit down 25%, Reuters reported.

The company, which also makes Pall Mall and Dunhill cigarettes and controls nearly a quarter of the Russian market, said in June it was in talks with a distributor in the country to sell the business.

An agreement on the transfer of shares has not been concluded, the company said.

British American Tobacco reported a 25% drop in operating profit to 3.68 billion pounds ($4.44 billion) in the six months to June 30 as a result of spending.

However, the 119-year-old company maintained its full-year guidance after reporting higher-than-expected first-half earnings and adjusted operating margins amid growing demand for vaping and nicotine products and higher prices.

First half revenue of £12.87bn and an adjusted operating margin of 43.9% beat the company's guidance of £12.62bn and a 43.5% operating margin.