BAT shares drop as it maintains full-year forecast despite US policy boost

* BAT's shares fall as it ​leaves group guidance unchanged

* Some investors had expected upwards revisions after significant U.S. policy shift

* Company loses market share in ​tobacco, ‌warns on Middle East uncertainty

June 2 (Reuters) - British American Tobacco raised its forecast for revenue from smoking alternatives like vapes ⁠on Tuesday after a significant U.S. policy shift, ⁠but kept its group-wide guidance unchanged, sending ​its shares lower in early trading.

The Lucky Strike and Dunhill cigarette maker's shares fell more than 2% after it said it continued to see full-year revenue and adjusted profit from operations hitting ​the lower ‌end of its guidance of 3-5% and 4-6%, respectively.

Sales in the United States, BAT's largest market, have been constrained by a requirement that manufacturers of new nicotine products like the company's Vuse vapes or Velo nicotine pouches obtain a licence from regulators, a lengthy process that ​has delayed product launches. However, the FDA last month said it would use 'enforcement discretion' to look the ‌other way when manufacturers sold unlicensed products, as long as their licence applications met certain standards.

"We welcome the FDA's recent prioritisation guidance as ‌an important step toward effective enforcement and expanding market access for responsible products, and we are actively preparing our future Modern Oral and Vapour portfolio for market," CEO Tadeu Marroco said in ​a statement.

BAT expects first-half and full-year revenue growth from such products to be in the mid-teens, up from ‌its prior forecast of low double-digit growth.

The company lost cigarette market share in its seven top tobacco markets, including the U.S., where there has been a shift to lower-priced products.

It expects the tobacco ⁠industry to ⁠suffer a 2.5% decline in global volumes this year, more ‌than previously expected. Barclays analyst Pallav Mittal said some investors had been expecting a guidance upgrade, at least for revenue, ​adding that BAT was ​being cautious due to the unclear knock-on effects of the Iran ‌war.

BAT said while there was currently no significant impact on its business, there was the risk of volatility in consumer sentiment should uncertainty persist.

British American Tobacco