British American Tobacco has said that it expects to report full-year revenue growth of between 2% and 4% at constant currency rates, as more people use its e-cigarettes and oral nicotine products.
BAT forecast mid-single digit adjusted diluted earnings per share growth on a constant currency basis for the year ending December 31.
The Lucky Strike cigarette maker also expects 'strong adjusted operating margin improvement despite increasing inflation in our supply chain', it said.
Non-Combustible Products
BAT estimated that 3.2 million more consumers began using its non-combustible products in the first nine months of the year, bringing the total number of users to about 21.5 million people.
The company added that sales of its combustible cigarette tobacco brands were flat in the third quarter but did not provide a full-year sales forecast for that business.
The group said that it expects increased sales from across its New Categories business in 2022, as well as across all regions, and was confident of achieving its target of £5 billion in revenue by 2025.
Cash-Generative Business
"Our business is highly cash generative, and in 2022 we expect another year of operating cash conversion well ahead of our 90% target," commented Jack Bowles, chief executive. "While expecting net finance costs to increase given the recent speed and significance of global interest rate rises and currency volatility, we will benefit from a 90% fixed debt-profile and an average maturity of over 10 years.
"In summary, our transformation is accelerating, driven by our New Categories performance, and we are delivering on our full year guidance. Together, this will enable us to further invest in, and accelerate the transformation of, our business.”
News by Reuters, edited by by ESM – your source for the latest A-Brands news. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
