British American Tobacco (BAT) said in its half-year report that adjusted revenue and operating profit for the 6 months ended 30 June, increased by 4.1 per cent and 5.9 per cent respectively over the comparable period in 2018.

Without adjusting, revenue for the six-month period ended 30 June increased by 4.6 per cent to reach GBP 12.170 billion (USD 14.8 billion), and operating profit decreased by 1.3 per cent to reach GBP 4.380 billion.
On a representative basis, combined cigarette and heated tobacco unit shipments declined by 3.5 per cent, with 36.2 billion sticks having been shipped in the US, 6 per cent less than in the same period in 2018. The company shipped 336 billion cigarettes in the first half of this year, and 3.9 billion heated tobacco units.
In the OTP (Other tobacco products) category, which includes RYO and MYO tobacco, BAT shipped 10 billion stick equivalents, which, on a representative basis, meant a decrease of 6.4 per cent in OTP volume when compared to the first half of 2018.
BAT collected GBP 531 million in revenue from its Next Generation Products (NGP) portfolio over the period, an increase of 27.3 per cent when adjusted. In the vapour category, BAT shipped 102 million 10ml units, up 32 per cent on a representative basis. And revenue from heated tobacco products, at GBP 301 million, was up by 4 per cent compared to the same period in 2018. BAT said that by June 2019, the Group’s vapour products were present in a total of 20 markets. The Group intends to further expand the geographic footprint in the second half of 2019.
“Our New Categories portfolio continued to deliver encouraging growth. While there is much more to be done, with new product launches planned for the second half of the year and the impact of a full year of additional investment, we expect revenue growth to accelerate in the second half of the year. In 2019, we are on track to be around the middle of our guidance range of 30-50 per cent New Categories revenue growth per annum, excluding the impact of translational foreign exchange,” Jack Bowles, Chief Executive, said.