British American Tobacco, the owner of the Pall Mall and Lucky Strike cigarette brands, has reported increased revenues and volumes but cautions that currency effects are affecting results.
In the first three months of 2012, organic revenues grew by 6% on a constant currency basis: "driven by volume growth, improving mix and continued good pricing". The trouble for BAT is that foreign exchange (FX) movements have made life rather difficult, with revenues up just 4% after taking account of current exchange rates.
Group volumes from subsidiaries were 166bn, up 1.3% including the acquisition of Colombian firm Protabaco in October 2011.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Organic volumes increased by 0.7% principally driven by growth in Brazil, the Gulf Cooperation Council, Denmark, Bangladesh and Vietnam. Italy and South Korea saw lower volumes which dented the figures somewhat.
Across the four main "global drive" brands, Kent was up 7%, Dunhill was flat, Lucky Strike gained 26%, while Pall Mall was 4% ahead of the same period of 2011.
BS
-
Christmas at Chatsworth: review of The Cavendish Hotel at BaslowMoneyWeek Travel Matthew Partridge gets into the festive spirit at The Cavendish Hotel at Baslow and the Christmas market at Chatsworth
-
Tycoon Truong My Lan on death row over world’s biggest bank fraudProperty tycoon Truong My Lan has been found guilty of a corruption scandal that dwarfs Malaysia’s 1MDB fraud and Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto scam
