Video: Chief Executive's take on Half-Year Results 2026

Tadeu Marroco, Chief Executive

I’m pleased that our First Half performance is in-line with expectations. We are building momentum as we transform and I am confident that we are firmly on track to deliver our full-year 2026 guidance.

Our global multi-category portfolio of leading brands, combined with enhanced commercial execution, continues to drive our transformation, with our Smokeless* products now accounting for 19.8% of Group revenue.

I would like to share four key takeaways from today’s results:

First – Our New Categories continue to gain momentum, and I’m delighted to report accelerating top and bottom-line growth.

We continue to expect mid-teens New Category revenue growth for the full-year, driven by:

• Excellent momentum in Modern Oral performance across all three regions,
• A return to growth in Vapour for the first time in two years, led by the U.S.,
• And continued traction from our innovation roll-outs across New Categories.

Importantly, we remain focused on Quality Growth, prioritising investment in our most profitable value pools, enhancing returns and driving strong New Category contribution growth.

Second – In the U.S., we delivered strong revenue and profit growth.

We are the fastest growing company in total nicotine, reflecting the strength of our multicategory portfolio and disciplined execution, in the world’s largest value pool.

This broad-based momentum, combined with planned Modern Oral and Vapour portfolio expansion in the second half, reinforces my confidence in our sustainable future delivery.

Third – We continue to extend our clear global Modern Oral leadership in the fastest growing New Category.

In the U.S., we delivered triple-digit volume and revenue growth, driven by the success of Velo Plus and Grizzly Modern Oral.

And, in both AME and APMEA, Velo continued to drive strong growth and financial delivery.

As a result, we further strengthened our clear global volume share leadership, and Modern Oral has now become our largest New Category by revenue.

And finally, we continue to drive value from combustibles to fund our transformation, while remaining focused on volume share globally.

In combustibles, revenue was up 2.1%, led by the U.S. and AME, more than offsetting a slower than expected recovery in APMEA. Category contribution was up 2.7%, supported by our ongoing simplification and cost savings programmes.

BAT continues to be highly cash generative, and we remain on track to generate more than 50 billion pounds of free cash flow before dividends by the end of 2030.

We are making good progress towards our year-end target leverage range of 2 to 2.5 times**, and remain committed to delivering sustainable shareholder value through robust cash returns.

Finally, I would like to thank our BAT colleagues around the world who continue to drive our transformation with their passion, their innovation and their commitment.

As I look ahead and reflect on what’s on the horizon for BAT, I’m excited by the growth opportunities across our multi-category portfolio, and I’m confident in our ability to deliver long-term, profitable growth and sustainable value for shareholders.

Footnotes can be found in the full transcript pdf below