British American Tobacco said today that it was continuing to deliver good market share gains against a backdrop where expectations remained unchanged for industry volume to be down around 3.5 percent for the full year.
‘In the US, we are performing well, with growing value share and pricing in line with expectations,’ BAT said in a note posted on its website. ‘US industry volume decline remains in line with historic ranges and is expected to be down around 4.0-4.5 percent for the full year, with a slight improvement in H2’
The company was delivering an update ahead of analyst and investor meetings during the ‘coming weeks’ in which it said it would discuss the progress of the business and the opportunities ahead.
Also as part of its update, BAT said its geographic expansion in respect of Tobacco Heating Products (THP) was continuing to progress well, with THP revenue expected to grow substantially. In Japan, where the THP category remained flat, glo’s share was now at 4.4 percent, up from 3.3 percent at the start of the year.
‘BAT’s global vapor business is expected to deliver double digit volume and constant currency revenue growth in 2018, on a representative basis, with Vuse in the US continuing to perform well driven by the launch of our pod-mod product, Alto, and the reintroduction of Vibe,’ the company said. ‘Vype continues to grow share, with ePen3 showing promising initial results in the UK and Canada
‘THP and vapor revenue is showing strong growth and is expected to reach £900 million of reported revenue in 2018, led by THP. The revision from the previously announced revenue target of £1 billion is largely driven by a reduction in planned year-end stocks in Japan as the THP category remains flat and the effect of the Vuse Vibe recall in the US.
‘In Oral Tobacco, we expect strong constant currency revenue growth on a representative basis, with good performances in both the US and Europe, following the continued success of Epok.’
Strong revenue growth
