By Ian Walker

British American Tobacco PLC said Friday that ownership of its business in Russia is no longer sustainable in the current environment, and lowered its guidance for the year.

The FTSE 100 cigarette maker--which houses the Kent, Dunhill and Lucky Strike brands--said that it has started the process to transfer its Russian business, while continuing to pay its 2,500 employees there.

Upon completion, BAT will no longer have a presence in Russia, it said.

BAT said that given the continuing uncertainty related to Russia and Ukraine, it now expects group revenue growth of 2% to 4% for this year, and for mid-single-figure adjusted diluted earnings-per-share growth, both on a constant currency basis.

The company had previously forecast 3% to 5% revenue growth and high-single-digit adjusted EPS growth.

Ukraine and Russia accounted for around 3% of 2021 group revenue.

Shares at 1607 GMT were down 49.0 pence, or 1.6%, at 3,051.0 pence.

Write to Ian Walker at ian.walker@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 11, 2022 11:29 ET (16:29 GMT)

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