BAT rues currency swings

Cigarette giant British American Tobacco stuck to its full-year targets today despite seeing currency fluctuations hold back profits.

Chairman Martin Broughton said he still expected “high single figure growth” in earnings this year as BAT’s leading brands continue to gain ground.

Volume sales of the group’s four global brands – Lucky Strike, Kent, Dunhill and Pall Mall – were up nearly 15% in the third quarter of the year.