BAT expects return to US growth this year, inches up annual sales target
June 3 (Reuters) - British American Tobacco (BATS.L), opens new tab said on Tuesday it would return to revenue and profit growth in the U.S. this year, and inched up its annual sales growth target to 1%-2%, with first-half revenue trending slightly ahead of its expectations.
The maker of Lucky Strike and Dunhill cigarettes, which had earlier forecast 1% sales growth this year, said it now expects low-single digit revenue growth in the first half in its business that includes vapes, tobacco heating products and oral nicotine pouches.
BAT and its peers have been struggling with declining tobacco sales as consumers switch to cheaper brands or alternatives such as vapes, tightening regulations, and a squeeze from illegal vapes.
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Glasgow Times
11 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Belfast Hills project helping young people with anxiety
It comes as more than a quarter of parents or guardians across the UK have said their child has struggled with anxiety, with access to nature and green spaces hoped to help. In a survey of more than 2,000 parents of children aged four to 17, conducted by Ipsos for the National Lottery Heritage Fund, over a quarter (30%) said their child struggled with anxiety or panic attacks in the past 12 months. Just under a quarter (23%) said their child struggled with stress and 18% said their child dealt with low self-esteem, while 22% of parents with a child as young as seven say their child struggled with anxiety over the past 12 months. Young people taking part in a National Lottery funded Trainee Ranger scheme at Belfast Hills Partnership. (Belfast Hills Partnership/PA) Just over a third of parents said spending more time in nature would help their child's mental health, and more than a quarter (28%) felt being able to access green spaces, such as parks, would also help. In the Ipsos UK-wide survey, parents said their child seemed worried about a range of issues in the last year, the top three being judged by others (27%), body image (21%) and safety (18%). Just under one in 10 (9%) mentioned climate change. The findings were released on World Environment Day by The National Lottery Community Fund, which wants to encourage as many people as possible to get involved in projects linked to nature and green spaces. In the last year, The National Lottery Community Fund has supported more than 50 environmental projects in Northern Ireland to protect and restore nature, encourage recycling and save energy, thanks to over £2 million of funding generated by National Lottery players. It is offering millions of pounds of funding over the next 10 years to projects and charities across the UK specifically focused on restoring and regenerating nature. People across Northern Ireland can apply for National Lottery Awards for All grants of between £300 and £20,000 for environmental projects, through The National Lottery Community Fund's website. Belfast Hills Partnership is one of the projects in Northern Ireland that is supporting the mental health of young people, including 19-year-old Kai who has found getting out in nature life-changing. Young people taking part in a National Lottery funded Trainee Ranger scheme at Belfast Hills Partnership. (Belfast Hills Partnership/PA) Kai is taking part in the National Lottery funded Trainee Ranger scheme at Belfast Hills Partnership. 'Growing up, my experience of being in a green space was in a football pitch. I didn't know the whole world of foraging and conservation existed. When having a rough time, I gave Belfast Hills Partnership's yearlong Trainee Ranger scheme a go,' he said. 'I got to explore different parks and forests and learnt loads of new skills, like foraging for food and then cooking it outside, hiking in the Belfast hills and protecting animals and local habitats. We had full days of learning about bats and types of birds, which I was really interested in. 'The positive effect on my mental health was instant. Being out in the fresh air and having a purpose really changed my life. Meeting like-minded people my age and having something practical to look forward to, helped me start a better path, one I never dreamed I'd be on. 'I got my strimming licence through the project, and I'm now working as a gardener, as well as being a Volunteer Ranger for Colin Glen Forest Park. My days are all about being in nature and I love it.' John Rose, environment lead at The National Lottery Community Fund, said mental health is a complex area. 'While there is no one single solution, parents are telling us that access to green spaces and nature could play a part in helping their child's mental health and we know this is backed up by other research,' he said. 'At The National Lottery Community Fund, we know people are increasingly concerned about the environment but we can empower them to take action to improve it as we provide funding, from £300 for small grassroot organisations to hundreds of thousands of pounds for more established organisations.' He added: 'If you have an idea for a project that will restore or improve your local environment, whether that's a tree-planting project, a community garden or a recycling scheme we're urging you to get in touch and apply for a grant at
BBC News
33 minutes ago
- BBC News
Guernsey hotels 'hopeful' as inter-island ferry launches
Hoteliers in Guernsey said they were feeling "hopeful" that the new Islands Unlimited ferry service would increase visitor numbers from Jersey, as figures showed passenger movements from the largest Channel Island were down half in 2025 compared to Murray, CEO at Islands Unlimited, said he was feeling "nervous and excited" ahead of the were being told to use the service, which would offer multiple daily services between Guernsey and Jersey, or lose service was scheduled to make its maiden voyage from Guernsey at 07:00 BST on Thursday, six days later than scheduled. Andrew Chantrell, general manager at the Old Government House Hotel, said the service was a "great opportunity"."Hopefully, we'll see a similar number [of visitors from Jersey than has been seen from France] because that link to Jersey is really important to us" he said."It's not just the Jersey market coming to Guernsey, but we also saw in the past the twin centre breaks."Particularly from the European market using that link between the two islands to come over to Guernsey for a few nights, go back to Jersey and fly home from there." The latest figures from Visit Guernsey showed passenger movements from Jersey were down by half between January and April 2025, compared to the same period in Walker, director of the Little Big Hotel Group and Vice President of the Tourism Management Board, said the Jersey market was "huge" for the bailiwick."I do wonder to a degree whether it's been ignored. If you consider in 2024, 67,000 in terms of passenger numbers between Guernsey and Jersey, so far towards the end of April the numbers are showing about 6,000" she said."So we're 50% down already, we've got to see at least 60,000 movements to match 2024, never mind see a growth in those numbers coming through. "We don't want to be sitting here talking about managed decline, we want to see an increase in these tours and numbers increasing going forward." Flights 'expensive' While hoteliers in the island claimed the number of people, especially from France, staying overnight had increased, Karel Harris, director of the Sarnia Hotel Group, said the number of people staying overnight from Jersey had 'disappeared'."It's a shame really because we used to have so many more staying visitors from Jersey but over the years the connectivity with the flights has become so expensive, so let's hope we see an increase again."Mr Murray, from Islands Unlimited, said the company was in touch with tourism and hospitality sectors in both islands."I think there is a market for everyone. We want to try and make it accessible and also meet the strategic obligations that the islands want in terms of growing their visitor economy.""There's a great opportunity and we just need to make sure that people are using it, if it is not sustainable then it's obviously not something that will be able to continue in the future."
BBC News
33 minutes ago
- BBC News
Bridgwater Carnival HQ upgrade takes step forward
A contractor has been appointed to deliver a £4.9m project to rebuild the headquarters of one of Europe's largest illuminated clubs use the workshops on Bristol Road in Bridgwater to build their carts for the Somerset carnival season each project includes replacing the existing sheds with 14 new ones, which will have heating, lighting and running Council has taken a key decision, which should allow construction work to begin in the coming months. The local authority estimates around 1,700 volunteers are involved in creating carnival cart Guy Fawkes Carnival Committee is also housed on the site. The project is set to provide a total of 140 parking spaces, including six disabled spaces and 13 cycle Bristol Road junction would also be upgraded, with improved footpaths on either permission for the project was granted in 2023, with construction work originally set to be completed before the 2024 work started in March 2023 and more recently the council put out a tender for construction firms to complete the building work.A preferred supplier has now been identified, which a council report called a "huge milestone". The project is one of a number of schemes to receive government funding as part of the Bridgwater Town received £3m from the deal, and further funding from Somerset Community Foundation and Arts Council council report said the scheme would "regenerate the Bristol Road site from its currently dilapidated condition". It said the site was "not fit for purpose" and it hoped the new "higher spec buildings" would attract volunteers to "continue the long-standing tradition" of the year's carnival had around 1,000 performers in the procession, made up of 99 entries, including carts and walking participants.
