(Alliance News) - British American Tobacco PLC on Wednesday said it expects to see annual organic revenue growth on a constant currency basis, while expecting its performance to be second-half weighted.
The London-based maker of Dunhill, Kent and Lucky Strike cigarettes said it expects revenue growth of between 3% and 5% in 2023, excluding Russia and Belarus, alongside earnings per share growth of a mid-single digits percentage on a constant currency adjusted diluted earnings per share basis.
It reiterated its February guidance of expecting performance to be weighted towards the second half of 2023 on an organic basis, due to the macroeconomic outlook.
In 2022, revenue grew 7.7% to GBP27.65 billion from GBP25.68 billion, despite lower volumes. Cigarettes and tobacco heating products volumes fell by 4.2% to 629 million.
Pretax profit was up 1.7% to GBP9.32 billion in 2022 from GBP9.16 billion in 2021.
BAT said its non-combustible consumer base increased further in the year-to-date, by more than 700,000 consumers, and that it is making "strong progress" towards its 2024 "new category" profitability target.
It set a new category revenue target of GBP5 billion in 2025, after reaching profitability a year early in 2024.
Shares in BAT were up 2.5% to 2,905.50 pence each in London on Wednesday afternoon and up 3.0% to ZAR657.70 in Johannesburg.
By Greg Rosenvinge, Alliance News reporter
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British American Tobacco (BATS)