Lucky Strike-maker British American Tobacco enjoys boost in vape sales

Dunhill, Lucky Strike and Kent cigarette-maker British American Tobacco saw sales of traditional cigarettes fall while the growth of its vaping and non-combustible products soared.

The company’s cigarettes remain by far its biggest sellers – raking in £22 billion in 2021, but down 3.2% on last year.

By comparison, its non-combustible products recorded sales of £3.2 billion – a jump of 21.9%.

Total sales were £25.7 billion, down 0.4%, with pre-tax profits up from £8.6 billion to £9.2 billion in the year.

Smokers turned to their cigarettes again, with the company highlighting Bangladesh, Pakistan, Vietnam, Brazil and Chile showing signs of recovery since the pandemic eased.

Those smokers offset falls in volume in Indonesia, the US, Ukraine, Russia and Japan.

About 18.3 million people picked up one of BAT’s vape sticks or non-cigarette products in the year – up 4.8 million on the previous year – and bosses said they remain on track to deliver £5 billion of revenue from the division by 2025.

Its Vuse vape brand is now the leading brand by value share globally, the company said, with sales up 59%, while its tobacco heating product, glo, saw sales up 46%.

Its Velo nicotine pouches saw sales up 41%.

Investment in new products hit £496 million in 2021, with losses for new categories dropping by £100 million.

Bosses added they expect to be profitable in new product categories by 2025.