Pound drags but BAT stays on track

BRITISH AMERICAN Tobacco said on Tuesday it expects to weather a weaker pound and a slowing market for tobacco-heating devices in Japan to report “good” earnings growth for the full year.

The company said that trading in the first half of the year was in line with expectations and that adjusted revenue and profit growth would be weighted to the second half due to several items affecting its first-half comparisons.

The maker of Lucky Strike and Dunhill cigarettes said “good adjusted constant currency EPS growth” was expected to be impacted by a significant currency translation effect of around 9 per cent for the first half and 6 per cent for the full year, at current spot rates.

It also noted that the market for tobacco heating products has slowed in Japan, though its product, glo, was growing and currently had 4.3 per cent of the national market.