(Reuters) - British American Tobacco <BATS.L>, the world's no. 2 tobacco company by revenue, raised its full-year group revenue forecast on Wednesday, despite a slowdown in the U.S. vaping market.
The maker of Lucky Strike and Dunhill cigarettes said it now expects currency adjusted revenue to grow in the upper half of its 3-5% long term target range, while maintaining its forecast for adjusted earnings per share growth in the high-single-digit range.
The company, however, said it now expects revenue growth in its new categories - e-cigarettes, tobacco heating products and snuff- to be at the low end of its 30-50% increase, reflecting a slowdown in the U.S. vaping market.
The company had previously expected new categories revenue growth in the middle of the 30-50% range.
Alarm bells have been rung on the safety of vaping in the United States after health officials reported more than 2,000 cases of vaping-related lung illness and 47 deaths linked to its use in the country.
(Reporting by Siddharth Cavale in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni)
