By Peter Evans
LONDON-- British American Tobacco PLC on Wednesday reported a
big fall in nine-month revenue, blaming a slow recovery in Western
Europe and pressure on the disposable incomes of consumers in all
its big markets.
The maker of Lucky Strike, Dunhill and Kent cigarettes said
revenue fell 9.6% in the nine months to Sept. 30, largely because
of currency weakness in its major markets.
BAT said cigarette volumes declined 1% in the period, compared
with a fall of 3.2% a year earlier. The company said growth in the
Middle East, Pakistan and Ukraine failed to make up for falling
demand in Russia, Vietnam and Brazil.
"Although currency movements impacted our reported results, the
group continues to perform well and we are on track to deliver
another year of good earnings growth," Chief Executive Nicandro
Durante said.
Shares in BAT fell to their lowest price since early April in
morning trading. At 09:05 GMT shares traded down 4.2%, or 145p, at
GBP33.21.
Analysts said the fall was partly because of comments on
"competitive pricing" in Australia and Malaysia, two of BAT's
bigger markets. BAT's brands are generally priced higher than
others meaning they can be undercut by competitors. In Australia,
BAT has lost share to Imperial Tobacco Group PLC's lower-priced JPS
brand, according to analysts at Berenberg Bank.
Write to Peter Evans at peter.evans@wsj.com
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