BAT says no material impact yet from COVID-19 outbreak

(Reuters) – British American Tobacco , the world’s No.2 tobacco maker, said on Wednesday it has not yet seen a material impact from the COVID-19 outbreak, despite having to postpone certain launches due to supply chain disruptions in China.

“Although supply chains in China are recovering, we have postponed certain launches and we are seeing some disruption in activation,” Chief Executive Officer Jack Bowles said in a statement.

The company also maintained its full-year forecast for operating margin, constant currency adjusted revenue and earnings per share growth for the year, ahead of its capital markets day on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Siddharth Cavale in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)