British American Tobacco (BAT) has announced that revenue, at current rates of exchange, increased by 15.7% to £7,717 million in the first six months of 2017.
The company says that this 'strong strategic momentum' reflects the translational foreign exchange tailwind due to the relative weakness of sterling. Adjusted revenue was up by 2.5% at constant rates of exchange.
Adjusted profit from operations, at current exchange rates, grew by 15.8% to £2,841 million, and adjusted operating margin was 30 basis points ahead of the same period last year.
Performance
Group cigarette volume was 314 billion, which represents a decline of 5.6%. However, the company said that it continued growth in the areas of next generation products (NGPs) and tobacco heating products.
BAT completed its acquisition of Reynolds American earlier this week, for a total consideration estimated at £41.7 billion, which will increase the company's market share.
"In the first six months of 2017, the combustible business continued to perform well, against the backdrop of a strong volume comparator," said Richard Burrows, BAT chairman.
"The group is the largest vapour company in the world and the successful completion of the Reynolds acquisition bolsters our leading position in both NGPs and combustibles. We remain confident of delivering another year of good earnings growth at constant rates of exchange."
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Sarah Harford. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
