British American Tobacco Raises Outlook on Better-Than-Expected Revenue
British American Tobacco BATS 0.24%increase; green up pointing triangle said revenue in the first half was slightly better than expected, and raised its outlook for the year.
The FTSE 100 tobacco group on Tuesday said it now expects to deliver revenue growth for the first half and the year of 1% to 2% at constant rates, up from a prior 1%. The company reported revenue of 25.87 billion pounds ($35.04 billion) for 2024.
It expects the U.S. to return to revenue and profit growth, driven by strengthening delivery in the combustibles category and an excellent performance of the Velo Plus product.
New categories products–which includes vapor, heated products and oral pouches–are expected to see low-single digit revenue growth in the first half and to accelerate to mid-single digit for 2025. It said the category it was hit by illicit vapor products in the U.S. and Canada, partly offset by Velo's performance.
The company–which houses the Kent, Dunhill and Lucky Strike brands–said new category revenue would be driven by innovations in key markets.
Write to Anthony O. Goriainoff at anthony.orunagoriainoff@dowjones.com
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