British American Tobacco (BAT) has forecast stronger revenue growth in its new category, which includes vapes and oral nicotine products, and combustibles in the second half of the year, driven by increased investments in the United States.
The maker of Lucky Strike and Dunhill cigarettes said it remains on track to meet its 2024 outlook of low-single-digit organic revenue and adjusted profit growth.
“In the United States, I am encouraged that our investment approach, taken over the last 18 months to strengthen our business, is working despite a challenging macro-economic backdrop,.” CEO Tadeu Marroco said in a statement.
He added, “We are making good progress and while there is still more to do, I believe that the choices we have made and the actions we are taking through this investment year are the right way forward for BAT.
“As previously highlighted, we do not expect the journey to our mid-term guidance to be linear. Building on the strong foundations we have established, I am confident that we will deliver an improved underlying performance as we move from investment to deployment in 2025.”
First-Half Performance
In July, British American Tobacco (BAT) reported a 1.3% rise in half-year profit, exceeding analyst expectations, but said it was likely to fall short of its 2025 ambitions on smoking alternatives.
The company posted adjusted diluted earnings for the six months to 30 June of 169.3 pence per share, against analyst expectations of 165.91 pence.
Organic revenue and organic adjusted operating profit fell 0.8% and 0.9% respectively. BAT had already flagged low single-digit declines.
News by Reuters, additional reporting by ESM.
