英美煙草 (BTI) 2023 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, everyone. I'm Tadeu Marroco, and I'm delighted to welcome you as BAT's Chief Executive to our half year results presentation. With me this morning is Javed Iqbal, Interim Finance Director. Once we have been through our presentation, Victoria Buxton, our Group Head of Investor Relations, will join us on stage to enable us to take your questions, both over the phone and through the webcast facility. I will begin with our financial highlights for the half year, the progress we are making in our transformation and outline my key areas of focus as Chief Executive. Javed will then take you through our financial performance in more detail. With that, I will take it that you have all seen the disclaimers on Slide 2 and 3.

大家，早安。我是塔德烏·馬羅科 (Tadeu Marroco)，我很高興歡迎您作為英美煙草首席執行官參加我們的半年業績發布會。今天早上和我一起的是臨時財務總監 Javed Iqbal。演示結束後，我們的投資者關係集團主管維多利亞·巴克斯頓 (Victoria Buxton) 將與我們一起上台，以便我們透過電話和網路廣播設施回答您的問題。我將首先介紹我們半年的財務亮點、我們在轉型方面取得的進展，並概述我作為執行長的重點領域。然後，Javed 將帶您更詳細地了解我們的財務表現。這樣，我就認為你們都已經看到了幻燈片 2 和 3 上的免責聲明。

I'm pleased with how BAT has performed in the first half of this year, delivering growing revenue, profit from operations and earnings per share. Our reported results reflect the impact of one-off items in the prior period including impairment of our business in Russia and Belarus, the U.S. DOJ and OFAC provision, restructuring charge relating to Quantum and positive FX tailwinds. We will now focus on constant currency adjusted results, unless otherwise stated. One of the important strengths of our company is the breadth and the scale of our global footprint, enabling us to consistently deliver balanced and sustainable results.

我對英美菸草公司今年上半年的表現感到滿意，其收入、營運利潤和每股盈餘不斷增長。我們報告的表現反映了上一期一次性專案的影響，包括我們在俄羅斯和白俄羅斯的業務減損、美國司法部和 OFAC 的規定、與 Quantum 相關的重組費用以及積極的外匯順風。除非另有說明，我們現在將專注於恆定的貨幣調整結果。我們公司的重要優勢之一是我們全球足跡的廣度和規模，使我們能夠始終如一地提供平衡和可持續的結果。

In the first half, this is demonstrated by our strong performance in AME and APMEA, offsetting the U.S. Overall, we have delivered an increase in revenue up 2.6%, profit from operations up 3.6% and EPS up 5.3%. I believe this is a resilient performance in today's environment, and we are on track for our full year guidance. I'm particularly pleased with our performance in New Categories, with revenue up nearly 27%, driven by good volume growth and pricing. Consumer number is up over 1.5 million year-to-date. And encouragingly, we are now very close to breakeven. As a result, we continue to transform rapidly with noncombustibles already reaching over 30% of our revenue in 23 markets.

上半年，我們在 AME 和 APMEA 的強勁表​​現證明了這一點，抵消了美國的影響。我相信，在當今的環境下，這是一個有彈性的表現，我們正朝著全年指引邁進。我對我們在新類別的表現特別滿意，在良好的銷售成長和定價的推動下，營收成長了近 27%。今年迄今，消費者數量已超過 150 萬。令人鼓舞的是，我們現在非常接近損益平衡。因此，我們繼續快速轉型，在 23 個市場中，不可燃產品已占我們收入的 30% 以上。

This represents nearly 1/3 of the 71 markets where we are currently present in New Categories. And our transformation is even more advanced in many markets. Non-combustibles as a percentage of revenue is already over 30% in France and more than 50% in the U.K., led by Vuse. Over 50% in Japan, Poland and Kazakhstan, led by glo; and over 70% of our revenue in Sweden is now in oral tobacco, driven by our success with Velo. Notably, Sweden is on track to become the first smoke-free market in the EU, with the smoking incidents approaching 5%. With a long-standing history of oral tobacco consumption and the fast-growing Modern Oral category, Sweden is a powerful example of the positive impact of Tobacco Harm Reduction in action.

這占我們目前在新類別中涉足的 71 個市場的近 1/3。我們的轉型在許多市場甚至更加先進。在法國，不可燃物佔收入的比例已超過 30%，在英國則超過 50%，其中以 Vuse 為首。日本、波蘭和哈薩克超過50%，以glo為首；在 Velo 的成功推動下，我們在瑞典 70% 以上的收入現在來自口腔菸草。值得注意的是，瑞典有望成為歐盟第一個無菸市場，吸菸事件率接近 5%。瑞典擁有悠久的口腔煙草消費歷史和快速增長的現代口腔煙草類別，是減少煙草危害行動產生積極影響的有力例子。

As you know, I have been in my new role for 10 weeks now. During this time, I have been focused on examining how we can sharpen our execution. As a first step, last month, I announced the refreshed Management Board. I would like to highlight 2 important changes. Johan's new role as Chief Operating Officer, focuses on delivering growth with accountability for driving business performance, operational excellence and best-in-class execution.

如你所知，我擔任新職務已經 10 週了。這段時間，我一直專注於研究如何提升我們的執行力。作為第一步，上個月，我宣布了新的管理委員會。我想強調兩個重要的改變。 Johan 擔任營運長的新角色專注於實現成長，並負責推動業務績效、卓越營運和一流的執行力。

And Kingsley's new role as Chief Strategy and Growth Officer focuses on enabling growth with accountability for strategic development and sharper the consumer focus through an integrated approach to brands. This new structure supports my commitment to build an agile modern and progressive BAT, with a collaborative and inclusive culture, enabling simultaneous performance and transformation.

金斯利擔任首席策略和成長長的新角色重點是透過對策略發展負責來促進成長，並透過品牌綜合方法更加關註消費者。這個新結構支持我的承諾，建立一個敏捷的現代和進步的 BAT，具有協作和包容的文化，從而實現同步績效和轉型。

As part of this, we must operate to the highest ethical standards and this must remain a priority for both our employees and our business partners. So let me share some of what I have been doing in my first 10 weeks. One of my immediate priority has been to visit a number of our key markets with my management team. I have to tell you that those visits has been humbling and reassuring in equal measure. BAT is a company with a great heritage. Our 2 biggest assets have always been our people and our brands. I have spent time with our people in these markets, and I have taken the time to listen. What is clear to me is that through the right enablers, our organization is ready, our people are excited about the transformation journey ahead with the opportunity to drive real change, both for BAT and society more broadly.

作為其中的一部分，我們必須按照最高的道德標準運營，這必須始終是我們的員工和業務合作夥伴的首要任務。讓我分享一下我在前 10 週所做的一些事情。我的當務之急之一是與我的管理團隊一起參觀我們的一些主要市場。我必須告訴你們，這些訪問既令人謙卑又令人安心。 BAT 是一家有著悠久歷史的公司。我們的兩大資產始終是我們的員工和我們的品牌。我與這些市場的員工共度時光，並花時間傾聽。我清楚的是，透過正確的推動者，我們的組織已做好準備，我們的員工對未來的轉型之旅感到興奮，並有機會為英美菸草公司和更廣泛的社會推動真正的變革。

I'm clear that BAT has a unique set of strengths and capabilities already in place. However, we can and must do better in order to evolve and accelerate our transformation. While my management team and I agreed that our multi-category strategy is right, we are also fully aligned on the areas that need greater focus, supported by a more collaborative and inclusive culture. Firstly, recognizing our diverse global footprint, we must set out the organizational focus and priorities in a clear way to ensure we execute flawlessly across all our markets. Sharpened execution is central to our market archetype model, enabling better resource allocation around fewer, bigger priorities that can be measured and for which the markets are accountable.

我很清楚，英美菸草公司已經具備了一套獨特的優勢和能力。然而，我們可以而且必須做得更好，以便發展和加速我們的轉型。雖然我和我的管理團隊一致認為我們的多品類策略是正確的，但在更具協作性和包容性的文化的支持下，我們在需要更加關注的領域也完全一致。首先，認識到我們多元化的全球足跡，我們必須以明確的方式製定組織重點和優先事項，以確保我們在所有市場上完美執行。敏銳的執行力是我們市場原型模型的核心，可以圍繞更少、更大的可衡量且市場負責的優先事項來更好地分配資源。

I understand this may seem a little theoretical. So let me bring the model to life with 2 markets, each representing a different archetype. In Bangladesh, we have actively focused on invest on continuing to grow value share, revenue and profitability in combustibles, while we await clarity on New Category regulation. And in Poland, we have over 50% of our revenue is now in New Categories. We continue to grow share, driving strong New Category revenue growth and improved contribution, alongside value from our combustibles business. Every smoker we convert to our New Category brands in Poland is margin accretive to our business. This benefit is further amplified as our share of the market in New Categories exceeds that of combustibles. These 2 markets are clear examples of where the mode is working, by making better resource allocation decisions and delivering strong results.

我知道這可能看起來有點理論化。因此，讓我透過兩個市場來實現該模型，每個市場代表不同的原型。在孟加拉國，我們積極致力於投資，以持續增加可燃物的價值份額、收入和盈利能力，同時等待新類別監管的明確。在波蘭，我們超過 50% 的收入現在來自新類別。我們持續擴大份額，推動新類別收入的強勁成長和貢獻的提高，以及我們可燃物業務的價值。我們在波蘭轉換為新類別品牌的每位煙民都會為我們的業務帶來利潤成長。隨著我們在新類別市場的份額超過可燃物，這一優勢進一步放大。這兩個市場是該模式發揮作用的明顯例子，它們可以做出更好的資源分配決策並取得強勁的成果。

We will replicate this as execution of insights and ways of working across our footprint. Secondly, we have further improved our New Category contribution, reducing losses by GBP 200 million in the first half. Having invested significantly in the base, New Categories are meaningfully contributing to group results, as we benefit from our increased scale. We are now profitable with New Categories in 20 countries, more than doubling the number from the first half of last year. It's important to note that we do not expect our pathway to profitability in New Categories to be linear. We are making active choice to continue to invest in our transformation with levels of investment reflecting our enhanced innovation cadence, further geographic expansion and market openings.

我們將複製這一點，以執行我們的見解和工作方式。其次，我們進一步提高了新品類的貢獻，上半年減少了2億英鎊的損失。新類別在基地上進行了大量投資，為集團績效做出了有意義的貢獻，因為我們從擴大的規模中受益。目前，我們在 20 個國家透過新類別獲利，數量比去年上半年增加了一倍以上。值得注意的是，我們並不期望新類別的獲利途徑是線性的。我們正在積極選擇繼續投資於我們的轉型，投資水平反映了我們增強的創新節奏、進一步的地域擴張和市場開放。

With our strong progress to date, I'm confident that we will achieve New Category profitability in 2024. Vuse is a key driver of our performance, with our progress driven by our continued focus on 3 levers of profitability: revenue growth management, COGS reduction and Marketing Spend Effectiveness. Vapour margins have historically been much lower than combustibles, THP and Modern Oral, but we have made great progress over recent years to build a commercially sustainable model with Vuse. Our vapour gross margin is fast approaching combustibles at a group level. In the more established markets, we are already delivering a meaningful category contribution. I'm proud of the strong progress we are making, and I'm confident that our transformation will deliver long-term multi-category growth and returns.

憑藉迄今為止我們取得的強勁進展，我相信我們將在2024 年實現新類別盈利。降低和行銷支出有效性。歷史上，蒸汽利潤率遠低於可燃物、THP 和 Modern Oral，但近年來我們在利用 Vuse 建立商業可持續模型方面取得了巨大進展。我們的蒸汽毛利率正快速接近集團層級的可燃毛利率。在更成熟的市場中，我們已經做出了有意義的類別貢獻。我為我們正在取得的強勁進展感到自豪，我相信我們的轉型將帶來長期的多類別成長和回報。

My third area of focus is the all-important U.S. combustibles market. In the U.S., we are sharpening our execution with new leadership and enhanced focus, and by activating commercial plans through our broad digitally enabled revenue growth management capabilities. RGM is a dynamic approach to revenue optimization, powered by big data and analytics, enabling a granular view of elasticity curves. It brings together our consumer occasion-driven portfolio, pack price architecture, joint customer business planning, optimize pricing, highly target trade activation and tailored retailer assortment strategies. Ensuring that our portfolio is well positioned to face competitive challenges and deliver profitable growth through all economic cycles.

我關注的第三個領域是最重要的美國可燃物市場。在美國，我們正在透過新的領導層和增強的重點來提高我們的執行力，並透過我們廣泛的數位化收入成長管理能力來啟動商業計劃。 RGM 是一種動態的收入優化方法，由大數據和分析提供支持，可提供彈性曲線的精細視圖。它匯集了我們的消費者場景驅動的產品組合、包裝價格架構、聯合客戶業務規劃、優化定價、高度目標化的貿易激活和定制的零售商分類策略。確保我們的投資組合能夠應對競爭挑戰並在所有經濟週期中實現獲利成長。

And our commercial plans are already starting to deliver early signs of U.S. combustibles volume share recovery. Our volume share is up 60 basis points since January, driven by 100 basis points increase in the important premium segment. While our progress is encouraging, we will continue to implement our plans carefully and thoughtfully. As a result, it will take time for this to deliver consistent combustibles value growth and returns. Turning to my fourth area of focus, THP, where I'm determined to significantly strengthen our consumer offering. To enable this, we are expanding our capabilities through increasing our investment in people, and building new innovation hubs, including our global device development center in China to drive an enhanced innovation pipeline. As a top priority, we have already reengineering our internal innovation processes.

我們的商業計劃已經開始提供美國可燃物銷售份額復甦的早期跡象。自 1 月以來，我們的銷售份額上升了 60 個基點，主要得益於重要高端細分市場 100 個基點的成長。雖然我們的進展令人鼓舞，但我們將繼續認真、深思熟慮地實施我們的計劃。因此，需要時間才能實現持續的可燃物價值成長和回報。談到我關注的第四個領域，THP，我決心在該領域顯著加強我們的消費者產品。為了實現這一目標，我們正在透過增加對人才的投資和建立新的創新中心（包括位於中國的全球設備開發中心）來擴大我們的能力，以推動增強的創新管道。作為首要任務，我們已經重新設計了內部創新流程。

In addition, we are developing an agile innovation ecosystem through external partnerships. And in doing so, increasing the pace of our transformation to drive better returns. Glo Hyper X2 Air, which are currently rolling out is the first step in an exciting accelerated medium-term heated tobacco pipeline. This enhanced innovation pipeline process is enabled by our 4D model. We are well-positioned to leverage across category insights and foresights, meaning we sharply define and prioritize consumer opportunities. We leverage this consumer understanding through a focused discovery phase to validate the consumer proposition. We then develop the commercial offering at an accelerated pace through our internal and external capability network. Before finally leveraging our global scale and capability to fully deploy. This dynamic is underpinned by our revamped product life cycle capability and portfolio management discipline, which enables us to adapt to the economic conditions and competitive environment.

此外，我們正在透過外部合作夥伴關係開發敏捷的創新生態系統。在此過程中，我們加快了轉型步伐，以帶來更好的回報。 目前正在推出的 Glo Hyper X2 Air 是令人興奮的加速中期加熱菸草產品線的第一步。這種增強的創新管道流程是透過我們的 4D 模型實現的。我們處於有利地位，可以利用跨類別的洞察力和遠見，這意味著我們可以敏銳地定義和優先考慮消費者機會。我們透過重點發現階段利用這種消費者理解來驗證消費者主張。然後，我們透過內部和外部能力網路加快開發商業產品的速度。最後利用我們的全球規模和能力進行全面部署。這種動態的基礎是我們改進的產品生命週期能力和產品組合管理規則，這使我們能夠適應經濟條件和競爭環境。

Overall, this means better innovations and faster development, generating higher returns on investment. My next area of focus is to lead responsible New Category development. I'm determined to manage external risks thoughtfully and transparently by increasing our engagement with regulators, policymakers and relevant stakeholders as well as leveraging our science. Given this, we do -- we need to have a louder voice. We have now created a new Management Board role to drive more proactive corporate and regulatory affairs. Our activities will follow a science-based approach to regulation to drive a level playing field in our markets. Regulation is a significant barrier to entry across New Categories.

整體而言，這意味著更好的創新和更快的發展，產生更高的投資回報。我的下一個重點領域是領導負責任的新類別開發。我決心透過加強與監管機構、政策制定者和相關利益相關者的接觸以及利用我們的科學知識，深思熟慮、透明地管理外部風險。有鑑於此，我們確實需要發出更大的聲音。我們現在設立了一個新的管理委員會角色，以推動更積極主動的公司和監管事務。我們的活動將遵循基於科學的監管方法，以推動市場的公平競爭環境。監管是進入新類別的重大障礙。

While navigating regulations is not new to BAT, we must now focus on developing a more front-footed external approach led by our science. Finally, my sixth focus area is to enhance our financial flexibility. We need to be more agile in the near term to make the right active choice that will deliver long-term sustainable value. I am clear that we will not compromise our commitment to accelerate investment in our transformation. And as I have set out today, I'm also clear on my near-term priorities to enable a more agile and flexible BAT, we will leverage our global portfolio to continue to grow profits and cash, deliver GBP 1 billion of efficiencies over the next 3 years to further fund our transformation and reduce debt to strengthen our balance sheet. In addition, we will seek and evaluate opportunities to optimize capital allocation.

雖然監管法規對英美菸草公司來說並不新鮮，但我們現在必須專注於開發一種以我們的科學為主導的更前沿的外部方法。最後，我的第六個重點領域是增強我們的財務彈性。我們需要在短期內更敏捷，做出正確的積極選擇，以實現長期可持續的價值。我很清楚，我們不會妥協加速轉型投資的承諾。正如我今天所闡述的，我也明確了我的近期優先事項，以實現更加敏捷和靈活的 BAT，我們將利用我們的全球投資組合繼續增加利潤和現金，在 2020 年實現 10 億英鎊的效率未來三年進一步為我們的轉型提供資金並減少債務以加強我們的資產負債表。此外，我們將尋求和評估優化資本配置的機會。

We have significantly increased our free cash flow generation with 4 consecutive years of at least 100% operating cash conversion. This has enabled us to return a total of GBP 21 billion to shareholders within this period, while also making good progress on the leverage. We remain committed to continue our 25-year track record of consistent dividend growth, rewarding our shareholders through all economic cycles.

我們顯著增加了自由現金流的產生，連續 4 年營運現金轉換率至少為 100%。這使我們在此期間向股東返還了總計210億英鎊，同時在槓桿率方面也取得了良好進展。我們仍然致力於繼續保持 25 年股息持續成長的記錄，在所有經濟週期中回報我們的股東。

And over the next 5 years, we are on track to generate around GBP 40 billion of free cash flow before dividends. As we continue to execute on our transformation, our medium-term financial model for growth will evolve, and we will have more flexibility to allocate our capital to drive returns and reward shareholders by sustainably returning cash through dividends and share buybacks. And with that, I will hand over to Javed, to take you through the details of our results.

未來 5 年，我們預計將產生約 400 億英鎊的股息前自由現金流。隨著我們繼續實施轉型，我們的中期財務成長模式將會不斷發展，我們將更靈活地分配資本，透過股利和股票回購可持續返還現金，以推動回報並獎勵股東。接下來，我將把工作交給 Javed，向您詳細介紹我們的結果。

Thank you, Tadeu, and good morning, everyone. When I started my journey with BAT 27 years ago as a management trainee in finance in Pakistan, I never thought I would get the opportunity to present BAT's financial results to all of you as Interim Finance Director. Personally, it is a very humbling and a proud moment for me. But more importantly, it is a great testament to BAT's commitment to develop and grow a very diverse global talent pool. When I joined BAT, what fascinated me the most was our international footprint and truly multicultural working environment where everyone gets an equal opportunity to learn, develop and grow in their careers. As a business leader, I am always focused on creating a culture of respect and empowerment or in Tadeu's words, inclusive and collaborative. And this has helped me in having a successful track record of developing high-performing teams and delivering strong and sustainable commercial results.

謝謝你，塔德烏，大家早安。 27 年前，當我以巴基斯坦財務管理培訓生的身份踏上英美煙草公司的旅程時，我從未想過自己能有機會以臨時財務總監的身份向大家介紹英美煙草公司的財務業績。就我個人而言，這對我來說是一個非常謙卑和自豪的時刻。但更重要的是，這充分證明了英美菸草致力於發展和壯大多元化的全球人才庫的承諾。當我加入英美菸草公司時，最讓我著迷的是我們的國際足跡和真正的多元文化工作環境，每個人都能在職涯中獲得平等的學習、發展和成長的機會。身為商業領袖，我始終致力於創造一種尊重和賦權的文化，或用塔德烏的話來說，包容和協作的文化。這幫助我在培養高績效團隊和交付強勁且可持續的商業成果方面取得了成功的記錄。

In my role as Interim Finance Director, I'll be working with Tadeu and members of the Management Board to continue to drive the transformation journey of BAT. Some of the areas, which will be in my primary focus are resource allocation, using tools like Marketing Spend Effectiveness and RGM and leveraging our digital hub capabilities and global business services' footprint. We will continue to invest in technology and move further on our digital transformation, making BAT a digitally connected organization. And of course, capital allocation and a sharper focus on cash generation will always be a high priority. Now moving to first half results. Our first half results demonstrate continued delivery and the resilience of our business.

作為臨時財務總監，我將與塔德烏和管理委員會成員合作，繼續推動英美菸草公司的轉型之旅。我主要關注的一些領域是資源分配，使用行銷支出有效性和 RGM 等工具，並利用我們的數位中心功能和全球商業服務的足跡。我們將繼續投資技術，進一步推動數位轉型，使 BAT 成為數位化互聯組織。當然，資本配置和更注重現金產生始終是重中之重。現在轉向上半年結果。我們上半年的業績證明了我們業務的持續交付和彈性。

We delivered organic revenue growth of 2.8%, with New Category revenue up nearly 27% and Combustible price/mix of 6%. Profit from operations was up 3.6%, with our operating margin up 90 basis points at current FX and 40 basis points at constant FX, driven by the investment in New Category contribution and our continuous focus on efficiencies. Diluted EPS grew by 5.3% or 8.5% on current currency basis. We continue to drive strong New Category revenue growth and are well on track to deliver on our GBP 5 billion revenue target by 2025. This was enabled by progressively building our consumer base, together with capturing consumption moments and growing poly-usage. Non-combustibles now represents 16.6% of group revenue, 1.8 percentage points higher than in 2022. I will now share more details on our key category drivers full market share across our key markets are available in the appendix.

我們實現了 2.8% 的有機收入成長，其中新類別收入成長了近 27%，可燃價格/組合成長了 6%。在新類別貢獻投資和我們對效率的持續關注的推動下，營運利潤增長了3.6%，按當前匯率計算，我們的營運利潤率增長了90 個基點，按固定匯率計算，我們的營運利潤率增長了40 個基點。稀釋後每股收益成長 5.3%，以目前貨幣計算成長 8.5%。我們繼續推動新類別收入的強勁增長，並預計在 2025 年實現 50 億英鎊的收入目標。不可燃物目前佔集團收入的 16.6%，比 2022 年高出 1.8 個百分點。

In Vapour, we extended our value share leadership, with Vuse achieving 38.3% in the key Vapour markets up 2.4 percentage points. In the U.S., the largest global Vapour market, Vuse strengthened its #1 position, Vuse share grew 5.7 percentage points to reach 47% in tracked channels, and we remain confident in our PMTA submission for Vuse Alto. We welcome the recent FDA actions with regards to illicit synthetic nicotine disposables in the U.S., which we estimate to be more than 50% of the total Vapour market. And we continue to engage with the stakeholders to enforce the removal of unauthorized products. In Canada, France, the U.K. and Germany, we maintained value share leadership in closed systems with the modern disposable segment continuing to accelerate total category growth. This drove strong volume and revenue growth in AME.

在 Vapour 領域，我們擴大了我們的價值份額領先地位，Vuse 在主要 Vapor 市場中取得了 38.3% 的份額，上升了 2.4 個百分點。在全球最大的 Vapor 市場美國，Vuse 鞏固了第一名的地位，Vuse 份額增長了 5.7 個百分點，在跟踪渠道中達到 47%，我們對 Vuse Alto 的 PMTA 提交仍然充滿信心。我們歡迎 FDA 最近針對美國非法合成尼古丁一次性用品採取的行動，我們估計美國非法合成尼古丁一次性用品佔整個電子煙市場的 50% 以上。我們將繼續與利害關係人合作，強制刪除未經授權的產品。在加拿大、法國、英國和德國，我們在封閉系統中保持了價值份額的領先地位，現代一次性產品細分市場繼續加速整體類別成長。這推動了非洲和中東地區銷售和收入的強勁成長。

Outside the U.S., we continue to approach the modern disposable segment in a responsible way with ongoing commitment to under-age Access Prevention, Take-Back schemes and marketing practices. We are making good progress on driving profitability in Vapour, with a positive contribution in 3 of the 5 key markets, driven by increased scale and marketing spend efficiencies. In Tobacco Heating, glo reported revenues was up 10% or 12% on an organic basis. Continued category volume share momentum in key AME markets, including Poland and the Czech Republic was offset by highly competitive markets in Japan and Italy. As a result, glo's THP category volume share was down 110 basis points to 18.2%, while our share of the combined Combustible and THP category continued to grow.

在美國以外，我們繼續以負責任的方式對待現代一次性產品領域，並持續致力於預防未成年人接觸、回收計劃和行銷實踐。在擴大規模和行銷支出效率的推動下，我們在推動 Vapour 獲利能力方面取得了良好進展，在 5 個關鍵市場中的 3 個市場中做出了積極貢獻。 glo 報告稱，菸草加熱領域的收入有機增長了 10% 或 12%。包括波蘭和捷克共和國在內的主要非洲、中東和非洲市場的持續類別銷售份額勢頭被日本和義大利競爭激烈的市場所抵消。因此，glo 的 THP 類別銷售份額下降了 110 個基點至 18.2%，而我們在可燃和 THP 類別中的份額繼續增長。

As Tadeu highlighted, we have much more to do on strengthen our THP offering, but I'm pleased to say that our newest innovation, glo Hyper X2 Air is delivering positive early results. Our Modern Oral portfolio continued to grow with Velo volume up 33% and revenue up 42%, driven by geographic expansion and innovation. We continue to grow our volume share of Total Oral, while our volume share by Modern Oral category was mainly impacted by our continued prioritization of Vapour in the U.S. as we await the outcome of our PMTA submission for a new Velo product. Outside the U.S., we maintained leadership of the Modern Oral category, and I'm delighted to share that Velo is now the largest oral nicotine pouch brand in Sweden.

正如 Tadeu 所強調的那樣，我們在加強 THP 產品方面還有很多工作要做，但我很高興地說，我們最新的創新 glo Hyper X2 Air 正在帶來積極的早期成果。在地理擴張和創新的推動下，我們的現代口服產品組合持續成長，Velo 銷量成長了 33%，營收成長了 42%。我們繼續增加 Total Oral 的銷售份額，而現代 Oral 類別的銷售份額主要受到我們在美國繼續優先考慮 Vapor 的影響，因為我們正在等待新 Velo 產品的 PMTA 提交結果。在美國以外，我們保持了現代口服品類別的領先地位，我很高興地告訴大家，Velo 現在是瑞典最大的口服尼古丁袋品牌。

We continue to see a significant opportunity for Modern Oral in emerging markets with strong growth in Pakistan and a national rollout ahead of plan in Kenya. Now turning to Combustibles. Our volume declined by 5.8%, mainly due to significant excise increases in Pakistan, lower U.S. industry volume and share loss due to our premium positioning. Cigarette price/mix remained strong, up 6%, with price offset mainly by geographic mix. Together, this resulted in 0.2% increase in revenue. Group volume share was up 10 basis points, driven by gains in AME, with stable share in APMEA, partially offset by the U.S.

我們繼續看到 Modern Oral 在新興市場的重大機遇，其中巴基斯坦成長強勁，肯亞提前在全國推廣。現在轉向可燃物。我們的銷量下降了 5.8%，主要是由於巴基斯坦消費稅大幅上漲、美國行業銷量下降以及由於我們的高端定位而導致的份額損失。捲菸價格/組合依然強勁，上漲 6%，價格主要被地理組合所抵銷。總而言之，這導致收入增加了 0.2%。在 AME 成長的推動下，集團銷售份額上升 10 個基點，APMEA 份額穩定，但被美國部分抵銷。

Group value share was down 40 basis points as the impact of our commercial plans in the U.S. and losses in APMEA more than offset growth in AME. We are performing very well in Combustibles outside the U.S. with reintegrated portfolio, refreshed brands and sharpened execution. This demonstrates the benefit of our global footprint and our ability to deliver in the challenging environments. Turning to regions. In AME, Total revenue was up 9%, driven by higher revenue from combustibles with a resilient volume performance and a favorable pricing environment, offsetting some geographic mix headwinds; alongside continued growth across each New Category with revenues up nearly 37%; adjusted profit from operations was up nearly 8%, driven by improved financial performance in key markets, including Germany, Poland, Brazil and Mexico.

由於我們在美國的商業計劃的影響和 APMEA 的損失超過了 AME 的增長，集團價值份額下降了 40 個基點。我們在美國以外的可燃物領域表現出色，重新整合了產品組合、更新了品牌並提高了執行力。這證明了我們全球足跡的優勢以及我們在充滿挑戰的環境中提供服務的能力。轉向地區。在非洲和中東地區，由於可燃物收入增加、銷售表現強勁和有利的定價環境，抵消了一些地理組合的不利因素，總收入增長了 9%；隨著每個新類別的持續成長，收入成長了近 37%；受德國、波蘭、巴西和墨西哥等主要市場財務表現改善的推動，調整後營運利潤成長近 8%。

In APMEA, Total revenue was up nearly 10%, driven by a robust combustibles performance, led by pricing and combustibles volume growth in Bangladesh, alongside continued growth across each New Category with revenue up 15%. Adjusted profit from operations in APMEA was up 9%, driven by strong performances in Australia, Sri Lanka and a continued recovery in global travel retail. In the U.S., Combustible industry volume was down 8.4% in the first half. Beyond market secular decline, industry volume was pressured by a combination of macroeconomic headwinds, driving reduced average daily consumption and downtrading, together with increased poly-usage.

在 APMEA，總收入增長了近 10%，這得益於孟加拉國定價和可燃物銷量增長帶動的強勁可燃物業績，以及每個新類別的持續增長，收入增長了 15%。受澳洲、斯里蘭卡強勁表現以及全球旅遊零售持續復甦的推動，APMEA 業務調整後利潤成長 9%。在美國，上半年可燃產業銷量下降了 8.4%。除了市場長期下滑之外，行業銷售還受到宏觀經濟不利因素的共同壓力，導致平均每日消費減少和交易下降，以及多用途增加。

Importantly, elasticities remained stable at around 0.4%. On top of the industry contributors, our volume performance was impacted by lower volume share as a result of our more premium skewed portfolio, lapping the benefits of SAP-related inventory phasing in the comparator and the California flavor ban. As a result of our Combustible volume declined 12.4% in the U.S. As Tadeu highlighted, our commercial plans are starting to deliver early signs of sequential volume share recovery. This is supported by the industry premium segment starting to stabilize, with our share of the premium segment growing to its highest point in 3 years, driven by strengthening performance from Newport and Natural American Spirit. In addition, Lucky Strike continues to perform well in the value segment and now has more than 3% share of the total market.

重要的是，彈性保持穩定在 0.4% 左右。除了行業貢獻者之外，我們的銷售表現還受到銷售份額下降的影響，這是由於我們的產品組合更加優質傾斜，從而利用了比較器中與 SAP 相關的庫存分階段和加州風味禁令的好處。由於我們在美國的可燃物銷售下降了 12.4%，正如 Tadeu 所強調的那樣，我們的商業計劃正開始提供銷售份額連續恢復的早期跡象。這得益於行業高端細分市場開始穩定，在 Newport 和 Natural American Spirit 業績強勁的推動下，我們在高端細分市場的份額增長至 3 年來的最高點。此外，Lucky Strike在價值領域持續表現出色，目前佔據整個市場3%以上的份額。

In Vapour, Vuse continues to expand its leadership position, driving revenue up 23%. Despite the challenging environment, we have continued to expand our operating margin by 280 basis points, driven by further improving Vuse profitability and continued efficiency savings. In California, the long-term impact of the flavor ban continues to evolve. Menthol products are reportedly still being sold illicitly due to lack of enforcement, and we have also seen elevated flavored volume in surrounding states, despite the industry's best effort to avoid this. Due to our menthol skew, 45% of our portfolio had to be delisted at the end of last year in California. Our Combustible volumes declined around 25% in H1 as many consumers moved to our non-flavored variants and our new FDA-authorized SKUs are performing well. Adjusting for a 13% pre-ban rate of decline, our underlying retention rate in California as a result of the flavor ban has been above 85%.

在 Vapour 領域，Vuse 繼續擴大其領導地位，推動營收成長 23%。儘管環境充滿挑戰，但在 Vuse 獲利能力進一步提高和持續效率節省的推動下，我們的營業利潤率繼續擴大了 280 個基點。在加州，香料禁令的長期影響持續演變。據報導，由於缺乏執法，薄荷醇產品仍在非法銷售，而且我們也看到週邊各州的調味量有所增加，儘管該行業盡了最大努力來避免這種情況。由於我們的薄荷醇傾斜，去年年底我們的投資組合中有 45% 不得不在加州退市。上半年，我們的可燃產品銷售量下降了約 25%，因為許多消費者轉向了我們的無味變體，而且我們新的 FDA 授權 SKU 表現良好。在禁令前 13% 的下降率進行調整後，我們在加州因風味禁令而保留的基本保留率已超過 85%。

Vuse has performed very strongly in California with 100% retention, despite menthol representing 60% of volume prior to the ban. Driven by the strength of our brand equity, Vuse has retained all of its pre-ban volume as consumers switched to our tobacco pods. As a result, Vuse gained 8.7 percentage point value share in tracked channel versus pre-ban. Overall, nicotine consumption was broadly stable in H1 due to accelerated growth of the illicit modern disposable segment, as consumers continue to access illicit flavored nicotine product. We continue to believe there are more effective ways to achieve tobacco harm reduction than restricting access to flavors that can play an important role in encouraging adults to switch to reduced-risk products.

儘管薄荷醇在禁令前佔了 60% 的銷量，但 Vuse 在加州的表現非常強勁，保留率為 100%。在我們品牌資產實力的推動下，隨著消費者轉向我們的煙彈，Vuse 保留了禁令前的所有銷售量。結果，與禁令前相比，Vuse 在追蹤管道中的價值份額增加了 8.7 個百分點。整體而言，由於消費者持續取得非法調味尼古丁產品，非法現代一次性產品市場加速成長，上半年尼古丁消費量大致穩定。我們仍然相信，有比限製香料的獲取更有效的方法來減少菸草危害，這可以在鼓勵成年人轉向降低風險的產品方面發揮重要作用。

At the same time, we will continue to advocate for and support enforcement activities against illicit products to help ensure that available products adhere to high consumer safety standards and support a level competitive playing field.

同時，我們將繼續倡導和支持針對非法產品的執法活動，以幫助確保現有產品遵守較高的消費者安全標準並支持公平的競爭環境。

Returning to group performance. Operating margin expanded strongly, up 90 basis points at current rates and 40 basis points at constant rate. We absorbed headwinds of 2% from both increasing inflationary pressures and transactional FX on profit. This was supported by our strong progress improving New Category profitability and additional efficiency savings. Turning now to EPS. We delivered constant currency adjusted diluted EPS growth of 5.3%. This reflects our resilient operating performance and the benefit of continued strong ITC delivery, which more than offset increased net finance costs and tax. Our cash flow conversion of 72% in the first half puts us well on track for another year of cash conversion in excess of 90%. Due to the timing of leaf purchases and MSA payments, our cash flow is always second half weighted. We expected full year gross CapEx of GBP 550 million below adjusted depreciation and amortization. And we continue to make good progress on deleverage.

回到集體表演。營業利益率強勁擴張，以當前利率計算成長 90 個基點，以固定利率計算成長 40 個基點。我們承受了 2% 的不利因素，包括不斷增加的通膨壓力和交易性外匯對利潤的影響。這得益於我們在提高新類別獲利能力和額外效率節省方面取得的強勁進展。現在轉向每股收益。我們實現了 5.3% 的固定匯率調整稀釋後每股收益成長。這反映了我們富有彈性的經營業績以及持續強勁的 ITC 交付帶來的好處，這足以抵消增加的淨財務成本和稅收。上半年我們的現金流轉換率為 72%，這使我們預計在下一年實現超過 90% 的現金轉換。由於菸葉採購和 MSA 付款的時間安排，我們的現金流始終是下半年加權的。我們預計全年總資本支出為 5.5 億英鎊，低於調整後的折舊和攤提。我們在去槓桿方面繼續取得良好進展。

As guided earlier, this year, our average cost of debt is 4.3%, which is well below the current market rates. And we continue to expect to see the impact of higher rates in our net finance cost in 2023 and moving forward. As a result, we expect full year net finance cost to be around GBP 1.9 billion, subject to both FX and interest rate volatility. Over the next 5 years, this business is on track to generate GBP 40 billion of free cash flows before dividends with cash conversion in excess of 90% and leverage moving towards in the middle of our 2 to 3x net debt-to-EBITDA corridor. This will provide greater business resilience while continuing to support future financial agility. As Tadeu outlined, we remain fully committed to further invest to better execute and deliver our strategy, while also rewarding shareholders throughout. We remain fully committed to our 65% dividend payout ratio over the long term and growth in Sterling terms.

正如早期的指導，今年我們的平均債務成本為 4.3%，遠低於目前的市場利率。我們繼續預期 2023 年及以後利率上升將對我們的淨財務成本產生影響。因此，我們預計全年淨財務成本約為 19 億英鎊，受到外匯和利率波動的影響。未來 5 年，該業務預計將在股息前產生 400 億英鎊的自由現金流，現金轉換率超過 90%，槓桿率將達到 2 至 3 倍淨債務與 EBITDA 走廊的中間水平。這將提供更大的業務彈性，同時繼續支援未來的財務靈活性。正如塔德烏所概述的，我們仍然完全致力於進一步投資，以更好地執行和交付我們的策略，同時也從頭到尾回報股東。我們仍然完全致力於維持 65% 的長期股息支付率以及以英鎊計算的成長。

Once our leverage target is reached, we will review how to sustainably return cash to shareholders. With that, I'll hand over back to Tadeu. Thank you.

一旦達到我們的槓桿目標，我們將檢視如何可持續地向股東返還現金。這樣，我將把工作交還給塔德烏。謝謝。

Thank you, Javed. Looking forward, we are on track to deliver our full year 2023 guidance, driven by strong New Category growth, a further reduction in New Category losses, a resilient Combustible performance and continued efficiency savings and strong cash generation. We expect to deliver organic revenue growth of 3% to 5%, excluding Russian Belarus and adjusted diluted mid-single figure EPS growth reflecting incremental New Category investment, continued investment in U.S. combustibles, higher net finance costs, a transactional FX headwind of around 2%, and this will all depend on the timing of the transfer of our business in Russia and Belarus. Extrapolating current spot rates, we expect currency translation to be a 3% headwind on full year adjusted diluted EPS growth.

謝謝你，賈維德。展望未來，在新類別強勁成長、新類別損失進一步減少、可燃物表現強勁、持續效率節約和強勁現金生成的推動下，我們預計將實現 2023 年全年指引。我們預期有機收入成長3% 至5%（不包括俄羅斯白俄羅斯），調整後稀釋後每股盈餘中個位數成長，反映了新類別投資的增量、對美國可燃物的持續投資、更高的淨財務成本、約2 的交易性外匯逆風%，而這一切都取決於我們在俄羅斯和白俄羅斯的業務轉移的時間。推斷當前即期匯率，我們預期貨幣換算將對全年調整後稀釋每股收益成長產生 3% 的阻力。

So in summary, I'm pleased with our resilient delivery in the first half and the renewed sense of energy in the business, and I'm confident we are on track for our full year guidance. I'm particularly proud of our ability to perform and transform simultaneously while consistently rewarding our shareholders through growing cash returns. I'm clear that there is much more to do. And together with my management team, we are energized to deliver on our focus areas outlined today in order to accelerate our transformation. Finally, I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone in BAT for their continued strong support and for delivering these results. I'm excited about the opportunities ahead, and I'm confident that we will deliver long-term multi-stakeholder value. We will now be joined on stage by Victoria for the question-and-answer session.

總而言之，我對我們上半年的彈性交付以及業務中重新煥發的活力感到滿意，我相信我們正在實現全年指導。我特別自豪的是，我們能夠同時執行和轉型，同時透過不斷增長的現金回報持續回報股東。我很清楚還有很多事情要做。我們與我的管理團隊一起，充滿活力地實現今天概述的重點領域，以加速我們的轉型。最後，我想藉此機會感謝 BAT 的所有人一直以來的大力支持並取得了這些成果。我對未來的機會感到興奮，並相信我們將提供長期的多利益相關者價值。維多利亞現在將在台上與我們一起參加問答環節。

Thank you, Tadeu, and good morning, everybody. (Operator Instructions). While we wait for questions from the phone line today, I can see that we've already got one for you. Given your 30-year career at BAT and 4 years as Finance Director, what will be different now you are Chief Executive.

謝謝你，塔德烏，大家早安。 （操作員說明）。今天，當我們等待電話諮詢時，我發現我們已經為您準備好了。鑑於您在 BAT 工作了 30 年，並擔任了 4 年財務總監，現在您擔任執行長將會有所不同。

Well, first of all, I would like to start saying that I'm very honored to be -- to have been appointed Chief Executive. And -- as you could see, and I have outlined that in my presentation, there is a lot of a single set of strengths in BAT already and they have been always clear since I took over as CEO that we have the right strategy. So we cannot ignore the fact that the world out there has changed substantially. The landscape we operate is much more complex. The macroeconomics are much more challenging. And this will require a sharpened execution. So one of my focus area, clear focus area is how we take much more measures in terms of doing resource allocation across geographies, across categories. That's why the market archetype is a very powerful example.

嗯，首先，我想說，我非常榮幸被任命為執行長。正如你所看到的，我在演講中已經概述了，英美菸草公司已經擁有很多單一的優勢，自從我接任執行長以來，這些優勢一直很明確，我們擁有正確的策略。因此，我們不能忽視外面的世界已經發生了巨大變化的事實。我們經營的環境要複雜得多。宏觀經濟更具挑戰性。這需要敏銳的執行力。因此，我的重點領域之一，明確的重點領域是我們如何採取更多措施進行跨地域、跨類別的資源分配。這就是為什麼市場原型是一個非常有力的例子。

I addressed some of my key focused immediate actions, which relates to increase our resilience in our U.S. Combustible business from the economic cycle point of view, but on the regulatory cycle view as well. So innovations, we have start to change the way we innovate in the group. We want to improve that substantially and then address the gaps that we have around THP. So -- and for sure, return of investment is -- will be a major focus for us moving forward when we make those calls in terms of execution. So the second leg is related to -- I would like to the group to be a much more outward looking. We need to have a more sustainable engaging agenda with the stakeholders, policyholders, regulators, policy makers in order to making sure that we have an informative debate about the landscape where we operate.

我談到了一些重點關注的立即行動，這些行動涉及從經濟週期的角度以及監管週期的角度提高我們美國可燃業務的彈性。所以創新，我們已經開始改變團隊中的創新方式。我們希望大幅改進這一點，然後解決 THP 方面的差距。因此，可以肯定的是，當我們在執行方面做出這些決定時，投資回報將成為我們前進的主要焦點。所以第二條腿與——我希望這個團隊更加外向。我們需要與利害關係人、投保人、監管機構、政策制定者制定更永續的參與議程，以確保我們就我們營運所在的環境進行資訊豐富的辯論。

We refer to that in the presentation. We have to create a level playing field, and there is a lot of desire for many governments to improve in some elements of the New Categories that we agree with. And it's a question of us to have the right discussion. I would like to sharpen up the narrative of BAT and be much more outspoken out there. And being in the front foot means that I have created a new role in the Management Board in Corporate Affairs exactly to give me the backing to be able to do that and to articulate the whole organization to us that go.

我們在演示中提到了這一點。我們必須創造一個公平的競爭環境，許多政府都非常希望改進我們同意的新類別的某些要素。進行正確的討論是我們的問題。我想加強對 BAT 的敘述，並更加直言不諱。處於領先地位意味著我在公司事務管理委員會中設立了一個新角色，正是為了給我支持，讓我能夠做到這一點，並向我們闡明整個組織。

And thirdly, it's about the culture is -- I genuinely have progressed in the group with -- trying to promote a much more collaborative, very inclusive culture. And that's what I want to see everywhere in BAT. I really believe that this can be very powerful. And I have read early signs that I think that the vast majority of the BAT employees agree with me. So that would be my third area of focus.

第三，它與文化有關——我確實在團隊中取得了進步——試圖促進更具協作性、更具包容性的文化。這就是我希望在 BAT 中隨處看到的。我真的相信這會非常強大。我讀到的早期跡象表明，我認為絕大多數英美菸草員工都同意我的觀點。所以這將是我的第三個重點領域。

Thank you, Tadeu. So we'll now go to the phone line. So I'll pass back over to the operator.

謝謝你，塔德烏。現在我們要接電話線。所以我會轉回給接線生。

Richard Felton from Goldman Sachs.

高盛的理查費爾頓。

My first question is going to be on the U.S. combustibles market. So like today, you referenced early signs of improvement for your business there, but it still remains under quite a lot of pressure. So my question is you've changed leadership of that business about a month ago. What do you think David is going to be doing differently to improve performance going forward for your U.S. combustibles business? Then my second question, also in the U.S., but on your Vapour business, where volume declined by 6.5% in the first half. I'm sure that is a result that you and the team are not satisfied by. So how do you think about restoring volume growth for U.S. Vapour? And I guess, sort of within that, how do you think about the balance between margin volume growth for that part of the business specifically?

我的第一個問題是關於美國可燃物市場。就像今天一樣，您提到了那裡業務改善的早期跡象，但仍然面臨相當大的壓力。所以我的問題是，大約一個月前，您已經更換了該業務的領導層。您認為大衛將採取哪些不同的做法來提高您美國可燃物業務的未來表現？然後是我的第二個問題，也是在美國，但關於你們的 Vapor 業務，上半年銷量下降了 6.5%。我相信這是您和團隊都不滿意的結果。那麼您如何看待恢復 U.S. Vapour 的銷售成長？我想，在某種程度上，您如何看待這部分業務的利潤率成長之間的平衡？

Okay. Thank you, Richard. Look, I'm really excited to have David come in as a new CEO of Reynolds. David came with a massive experience on the Combustible side. He was the head of Marketing, looking after the GDBs, the global drive brands that we have in the group for many years, 4, 5 years before he move on and is driving today one of the key areas within Europe. And under his leadership, he was able to put us in a very leading position in Vapour in the key markets in Europe and although Modern Oral. So David brings a mix of experience, which is quite unique, not just in Combustible, but also in New Categories and his style of management pretty much talks in the way I see the company moving forward.

好的。謝謝你，理查。看，我真的很高興大衛成為雷諾茲的新執行長。 David 在 Combustible 方面擁有豐富的經驗。他曾擔任行銷主管，負責管理 GDB，這是我們在集團中擁有的全球驅動品牌多年，在他離開之前的 4、5 年裡，他如今正在推動歐洲的關鍵領域之一。在他的領導下，他使我們在歐洲主要市場 Vapor 和 Modern Oral 領域處於非常領先的地位。因此，大衛帶來了多種經驗，這是非常獨特的，不僅在可燃物方面，而且在新類別方面也是如此，他的管理風格幾乎符合我對公司前進的看法。

So I'm very excited to have him there. And I think that he will do together with the Reynolds team a fantastic job. As you point out is the situation in the U.S. is difficult because at the end, we had the secular decline and elasticity, normal declines that was exacerbated by the macros. The macro is a combination basically of the incentives that came in on federal, state levels that was withdrawn after post COVID. And at the same time with massive inflationary pressures that put a lot of pressure in terms of consumer purchase power. And us being skewed in the premium segment will suffer most And this for sure, there were some other elements to explain our volume decline like SAP rollout.

所以我很高興他能來到這裡。我認為他將與雷諾茲團隊一起完成出色的工作。正如您所指出的，美國的情況很困難，因為最終我們出現了長期衰退和彈性，而正常的衰退因宏觀政策而加劇。這項宏觀政策基本上是聯邦、州層級的激勵措施的組合，這些激勵措施在新冠疫情後被撤回。同時，巨大的通膨壓力給消費者的購買力帶來了極大的壓力。我們在高端市場的傾斜將受到最大的影響，當然，還有其他一些因素可以解釋我們的銷售下降，例如 SAP 的推出。

But in essence, we were exposed to a segment that was struggling given the circumstance that we were facing in the U.S. The good news is that we are seeing for the first time, early signs of stabilization of the premium segment, so at the industry level, which is a very positive for us. And also, the action -- the commercial plans that we have put in place is already start to showing up. The improvement that we have seen is quite encouraging in the -- from January to now in terms of our market share improvement in Newport in particular, but also Natural American Spirit, the premium segment as a whole and the group as a whole. So for sure that those economic cycles come and go. What we want to ensure is that when this one finished, we came out of this much stronger when we came in. And that's exactly why we are working with all these commercial plans across our brands.

但從本質上講，鑑於我們在美國面臨的情況，我們面臨著一個陷入困境的細分市場。對我們來說是非常積極的。而且，我們所製定的行動——商業計劃已經開始顯現。從一月份到現在，我們所看到的改善是相當令人鼓舞的，特別是在紐波特的市場份額的改善方面，還有天然美國烈酒、整個高端市場和整個集團的市場份額的改善。因此，可以肯定的是，這些經濟週期會來來去去。我們想要確保的是，當這個項目完成後，當我們進來時，我們會變得更加強大。

And I think that David will be our great additive for what we need to put in place in the U.S. So that's the -- about David in the U.S. The U.S. Vapour market, you're absolutely right, is quite frustrating, to be honest, to see the whole increase in these unauthorized products, synthetic nicotine products. We believe that they are well ahead of 50% of the Vapour markets today in the U.S., well ahead of that. What is -- and this, for sure, is putting pressure on the overall consumption of the tracked channels when you see the reduction of -- as a group, as an industry, 15%.

我認為大衛將成為我們在美國需要落實的重要補充。尼古丁產品的整體增加​​。我們相信他們遠遠領先於當今美國 50% 的蒸汽市場，遠遠領先。當你看到作為一個群體、作為一個行業減少 15% 時，這肯定會給所追蹤管道的整體消費帶來壓力。

So BAT performed better and then we had a reduction F. But you see that this is just as a consequence of this exponential growth of this disposable -- nicotine device disposable. If you add that to the mix, it's a completely different ball game. And you will be nowhere near the 15% reduction that we are seeing because we are seeing a lot of traction of smokers actually using this type of products. What is encouraging is that the latest movements from the FDA in terms of trying to issue, for example, MDOs for some of those manufacturers and being very explicit that they are illicit products and even raising our penalty -- panel. So we will be supporting this initiative from the FDA for sure.

因此，BAT 表現更好，然後我們的 F 減少了。如果你把它加到混合中，那就是完全不同的球賽了。而且您將遠未達到我們所看到的 15% 的減少量，因為我們看到大量吸煙者實際使用此類產品。令人鼓舞的是，FDA 的最新舉措是試圖向其中一些製造商頒發 MDO，並非常明確地表明它們是非法產品，甚至提高了我們的處罰。因此，我們肯定會支持 FDA 的這項舉措。

There is a massive white space for every single percentage points that they are able to reduce. And we are quite, I would say, optimist that this will materialize. Because we know that a lot of the problems that we have in Vapour in terms of assets is coming from the use of these type of products naturally. So I think that there will be a lot of mobilization from different agencies in order to tackle this problem in the U.S. and we'll be willing to see this happening. Okay?

他們能夠減少的每一個百分點都有巨大的空白。我想說，我們對這一切的實現非常樂觀。因為我們知道，我們在 Vapor 中遇到的許多資產問題都是自然而然地來自於使用這類產品。因此，我認為不同機構將會進行大量動員，以解決美國的這個問題，我們願意看到這種情況發生。好的？

Gaurav Jain, Barclays.

高拉夫‧賈恩 (Gaurav Jain)，巴克萊銀行。

Three questions from me, if I'm allowed. So the first one is the definition of leverage that you have, and I think a lot of investors are very confused that what is the 2x to 3x net debt-to-EBITDA, like is it the way you are reporting adjusted net debt and adjusted EBITDA? We need to make various adjustments like remove Canada EBITDA net cash, then put restructuring charges, remove Russia net debt, add in hybrids. So how are you -- how should we interpret that 2x to 3x corridor?

如果允許的話，我問三個問題。所以第一個是你所擁有的槓桿的定義，我認為很多投資者都非常困惑，什麼是淨債務與EBITDA 的2 倍到3 倍，就像你報告調整後淨債務和調整後淨債務的方式一樣息稅折舊攤提前利潤？我們需要進行各種調整，例如移除加拿大 EBITDA 淨現金，然後計入重組費用，去除俄羅斯淨債務，增加混合資金。那麼你怎麼樣——我們應該如何解釋那個 2x 到 3x 走廊？

Do you want to take this one?

你想拿走這個嗎？

So -- yes. So I think this is how we are reporting them right now. So this is how they are reported in our numbers, and we are moving towards the mid of the corridor of 2 to 3 of net debt-to-EBITDA as they are reported in our numbers. And as you see, we have made a good progress from above 3 last year to now reaching 2.6 in the middle of the year. So we remain on track towards -- moving towards that target. So it is as they are reported in our number, not with that adjustments. And just to...

所以——是的。所以我認為這就是我們現在報告它們的方式。這就是我們的數據中報告的方式，我們正朝著 2 至 3 的淨債務與 EBITDA 走廊的中間方向發展，正如我們的數據中所報告的那樣。正如您所看到的，我們從去年的 3 以上到現在年中達到 2.6，並取得了很好的進步。因此，我們仍然朝著這個目標前進。因此，這就是我們的數據中報告的情況，而不是經過調整。只是為了...

Sorry, continue.

抱歉，繼續。

Please go to the second question.

請轉到第二個問題。

Sure. The second question is the e-cigarette growth, which is happening in the U.S. and a lot of market is moving towards disposables, as you're highlighting. In your view, like including disposables for legal, everything, how much has the e-cigarette market in the U.S. grown? 1H '23 over 1H '22?

當然。第二個問題是電子煙的成長，正如您所強調的那樣，電子煙正在美國發生，許多市場正在轉向一次性產品。在您看來，就像包括合法的一次性用品一樣，美國的電子煙市場成長了多少？ 23 年 1 小時超過 22 年 1 小時？

Well, we -- it's very difficult to have a full assessment of valuation in the U.S. because you'll note that most of these products are sold in non-tracked channels. They are independent stores, mainly Vapour stores, for example. They are e-commerce that they still can buy these products in the U.S. via e-commerce. So it's very difficult to have a view on that. But if you think, for example, that the valuation of the Vapour market in the U.S. is around GBP 5 billion or slightly even higher than that. The vast majority, like I said, more than 50% should be now clearly occupied by these products.

嗯，我們很難對美國的估值進行全面評估，因為您會注意到大多數這些產品都是在非追蹤管道中銷售的。它們是獨立商店，例如主要是 Vapor 商店。他們是電子商務，他們仍然可以透過電子商務在美國購買這些產品。所以很難對此有看法。但如果你認為，例如，美國 Vapor 市場的估值約為 50 億英鎊，甚至略高一些。絕大多數，就像我說的，現在顯然超過50%應該被這些產品佔據。

Sure. And the third and the small question on this ITC hotel spin-off, which has been announced, and you will own about 18% or 19% of that spin-off company. Would you be looking to monetize that stake, or you will remain invested in that company?

當然。第三個也是關於 ITC 酒店分拆的小問題，該分拆已經宣布，您將擁有該分拆公司約 18% 或 19% 的股份。您會考慮將這些股份貨幣化，還是會繼續投資該公司？

Yeah, Gaurav. Look, we were made aware actually yesterday about the decision of the ITC Board to propose this structure of releasing, keeping 40% of shareholders of the hotels and giving the other 60% for the current shareholders. We will know more details about that in the Board meeting that will be held in mid-August, and then we are going to make a decision around that. And as we move along, we'll make a call in terms of what we decide to do, specifically after making the decision in terms of this shareholding that you are referring to.

是的，高拉夫。聽著，我們昨天實際上已經了解到 ITC 董事會決定提出這種釋放結構，保留 40% 的酒店股東，將其餘 60% 交給現有股東。我們將在8月中旬召開的董事會會議上了解更多細節，然後我們將就此做出決定。隨著我們的進展，我們將根據我們決定做什麼進行電話會議，特別是在您所指的股權做出決定之後。

Nik Oliver of UBS.

瑞銀集團的尼克奧利佛。

Two for me. Just one on the U.S. You talked about the sequential improvement, which is nice to see. But as we look forward, do you still think in a down 4 to 5 is the right algorithm for the U.S. market in total? And then secondly, more group level, were you used to kind of modeling BAT a high single-digit constant FX company? Obviously, more recently, it's been lower given investments in NGPs and Ukraine, et cetera. But as we go forward, should high single-digit constant FX EPS and still be the right algorithm?

給我兩個。就美國而言，您談到了連續改善，這是很高興看到的。但當我們展望未來時，您仍然認為 4 到 5 的下降對於美國市場來說是正確的演算法嗎？其次，在集團層面，您是否習慣為 BAT 一家高個位數恆定外匯公司建模？顯然，最近，考慮到 NGP 和烏克蘭等國家的投資，這一數字有所下降。但隨著我們的前進，高個位數的恆定外匯每股收益是否仍然是正確的演算法？

Okay. Look, on the U.S. the question -- the first question was...

好的。聽著，關於美國的問題──第一個問題是…

Is the industry volume.

是行業量。

Yes, the industry volume, how it evolve. Look, the U.S. for sure that the macros like I said, is cyclical by nature. And the good thing about the U.S. is that the elasticity is still very benign at 0.4. And you would imagine that once the economy starts recovering, this element of macro that we have pointed out during our presentation is basically gone. This will bring us back to the likes of 5%. Now if it's more 4% to 5%, 5% to 6%, this will depend a lot in terms of the poly-users moving forward. But I would say that at this point in time, there is not in major to suggest that we cannot hold at that level of 5% on a normal circumstance without economic pressures given the fact that the elasticity is still very benign, like I said, which means that there is still a lot of pricing power in the U.S.

是的，行業規模，它是如何發展的。看，美國肯定像我說的那樣，宏觀經濟本質上是週期性的。美國的好處是彈性仍然非常良性，為 0.4。你可以想像，一旦經濟開始復甦，我們在演講中指出的宏觀因素基本上就消失了。這將使我們回到 5% 左右。現在，如果是 4% 到 5%、5% 到 6%，這將在很大程度上取決於多用戶的未來發展。但我想說的是，在這個時候，沒有什麼重大跡象表明我們不能在沒有經濟壓力的正常情況下保持 5% 的水平，因為彈性仍然非常良性，就像我說的，這意味著美國仍有很大的定價權

So the secular plus the elasticity will probably lead you to this level that will be around that, more or less depending on the poly-usage phenomena that we see moving forward. Now in terms of the future of -- financial algorithm future for the group, we are -- what we are facing is very challenging times because we -- and this was one of the reasons why we highlight this in the presentation today. The net finance cost we have today is much lower than what we are seeing in the market. So we have all this maturity coming in the next coming years. And this will mean higher net finance cost. This is as simple as that, which means that the kickers on the EPS will be -- not be counted on net finance cost. If anything, will probably be a drag.

因此，長期加上彈性可能會導致您達到這個水平，該水平將在該水平附近，或多或少取決於我們看到的未來​​的多用途現象。現在，就該集團的金融演算法未來而言，我們面臨著非常具有挑戰性的時代，因為我們——這也是我們在今天的演講中強調這一點的原因之一。我們今天的淨財務成本比我們在市場上看到的要低得多。因此，我們將在未來幾年內實現所有這些成熟。這將意味著更高的淨財務成本。就這麼簡單，這意味著每股盈餘的提升將不計入淨財務成本。如果有的話，可能會變成一個拖累。

So we have to take those things into consideration when we start talking about short-term, high single-digit type of figure. The other thing in the short term that we need to bear in mind is that despite the fact that the macroeconomic pressures has phased down substantially, there is still a big impact coming next year at the back of leaf because some of the leaf cost that we see this year, most of it impact the P&L of next year because of the nature of it. It goes to your balance sheet and then start hitting your P&L months later. So we will have to face this pressure. And as I said also in my presentation, we don't think that the fix in the U.S. that we want to do in Combustible will be a quick one. This will take some time, and we'll do it properly because we want to create a more resilient portfolio that for the sake of generate sustainable value over time.

因此，當我們開始談論短期、高個位數類型的資料時，我們必須考慮到這些因素。短期內我們需要牢記的另一件事是，儘管宏觀經濟壓力已大幅減輕，但明年對菸葉的影響仍然很大，因為我們的一些菸葉成本看看今年，由於其性質，大部分都會影響明年的損益。它會進入您的資產負債表，然後在幾個月後開始影響您的損益表。所以我們將不得不面對這個壓力。正如我在演講中所說，我們認為我們想要在美國對 Combustible 的修復不會很快。這需要一些時間，我們會正確地做到這一點，因為我們希望創建一個更具彈性的投資組合，以便隨著時間的推移產生可持續的價值。

Now saying all that, we cannot ignore the fact that we have a massive cash generative company. BAT is doing extremely well in New Categories. We are reducing the loss on a very accelerated pace. Hence, our comments about this will not be linear because this will depend a lot in terms of our plans for our [geo] expansion, markets that can open, new platforms that we launch. But one thing is very clear. The direction of [Tadeu] is very clear. This will be accretive for the results of the group has been since '21. There is nothing to prevent as you continue to be in that way moving forward. And our Combustible business outside the U.S. is performing extremely well. So with all the difficulties in the U.S., our price mix is still 6% . So there is a very, very, very strong company in our hands moving forward for the -- and the point that we try to make today for all of you is how resilient is this company.

話雖如此，我們不能忽視這樣一個事實：我們擁有一家規模龐大的現金生成公司。 BAT 在新類別中表現非常出色。我們正在以非常快的速度減少損失。因此，我們對此的評論不會是線性的，因為這在很大程度上取決於我們的[地理]擴張計劃、可以開放的市場以及我們推出的新平台。但有一件事是非常清楚的。 [Tadeu]的方向非常明確。這將為該集團自 21 年來的業績帶來增值。當你繼續以這種方式前進時，沒有什麼可以阻止的。我們在美國以外的可燃業務表現非常出色。因此，儘管美國有種種困難，我們的價格組合仍是 6%。因此，我們手中有一家非常、非常、非常強大的公司，正在向前邁進——今天我們試圖向大家說明的一點是，這家公司的彈性如何。

We are having difficult times in the Combustible business in the U.S. specifically. And this is more than offset by the performance that we are having now in the other categories other than Combustible as well in the other geographies. So when those -- all those things get aligned, we will be in a much stronger position. So I hope that I give you a kind of a perspective. I don't want to make commitments of this in the short term, we understand where we are in the short term. But the future is important to give some more prospect for you moving forward.

特別是在美國，我們的可燃物業務正面臨困難時期。我們現在在可燃物以外的其他類別以及其他地區的表現遠遠抵消了這一點。因此，當所有這些事情協調一致時，我們將處於更有利的地位。所以我希望能給你一種視角。我不想在短期內對此做出承諾，我們了解短期內的處境。但未來很重要，它可以為你的前進提供更多的前景。

Jacob De Klerk from Redburn.

來自雷德伯恩的雅各·德克勒克。

I have a couple of questions on your New category performance. The overall traditional oral category, not just BATs portfolio of brands in the U.S. seems to be affected by the growth in Modern Oral nicotine pouches. Is this a fair assessment to make on the overall oral market in the U.S.? And do you see this trend continuing? And then just secondly, all 3 New Categories are growing revenue strongly. Can you maybe give us a sense of the performance? This is mainly coming from new market rollouts like success of Modern Oral in Pakistan? Or are existing markets driving most of it Vapour in the U.S.?

我對你們的新類別表現有幾個問題。整個傳統口服品類別，而不僅僅是美國英美菸草公司的品牌組合，似乎都受到現代口服尼古丁袋裝成長的影響。這是對美國整個口腔市場的公平評估嗎？您認為這種趨勢會持續下去嗎？其次，所有 3 個新類別的收入都在強勁成長。能為我們介紹一下表演嗎？這主要來自新市場的推出，例如現代口腔在巴基斯坦的成功？還是現有市場推動了美國大部分 Vapor 的發展？

Yes. Modern Oral in the U.S. is performing in line with other traditional oral markets that we see across the world, the likes of Sweden and Norway, we have seen Modern Oral gaining traction in terms of total oral consumption. And the difference is that in the U.S., the average daily consumption is really low, is between 1 to 2 pouch as opposed to 6, 7 pouch that you see in the Nordics, for example. And this has to do with the product itself. The product has a level of [moisture] that is not really satisfying consumers as we can see outside. One of the difficulties that we have as BAT in our own offer in the U.S. is the fact that we couldn't bring this product that we have in Europe -- this excellent and leading product that we have in Europe to the U.S. yet.

是的。現代口服液在美國的表現與我們在世界各地看到的其他傳統口服液市場（例如瑞典和挪威）的表現一致，我們已經看到現代口服液在總口服消費量方面獲得了成長。不同之處在於，在美國，平均每日消費量非常低，在 1 到 2 袋之間，而在北歐則為 6、7 袋。而這和產品本身也有關係。正如我們在外面看到的那樣，該產品的[水分]水平並不能真正令消費者滿意。作為英美菸草公司，我們在美國的產品中遇到的困難之一是我們無法將我們在歐洲擁有的這種產品——我們在歐洲擁有的這種優秀且領先的產品帶到美國。

We have applied for PMTA. We are waiting for the outcome of the PMTA in order to be able to launch this product in the market. And I think that once this type of product reach the U.S., we will see a bigger traction, let's put in that way, in that particular market. So it's definitely one area of focus for us. And we feel very confident with our offer outside when we can be able to use it in the U.S. itself. So that's one. Starting with Modern Oral to answer your question, this is a fantastic performance. We have a fantastic product in our hands is we have just reached the all-time high leadership in the share in Sweden. And Sweden has dominated by our competitor for more than 100 years as you know, as a very traditional Oral markets. And Velo took leadership of the whole, not Modern Oral, the whole Oral tobacco segment in Sweden in terms of share.

我們已經申請了PMTA。我們正在等待 PMTA 的結果，以便能夠在市場上推出該產品。我認為，一旦這類產品到達美國，我們將在那個特定市場看到更大的吸引力，讓我們這樣說。所以這絕對是我們關注的領域之一。當我們能夠在美國本土使用我們的產品時，我們對我們的產品感到非常有信心。這就是其中之一。從現代口語開始回答你的問題，這是一場精彩的表演。我們手中擁有一款出色的產品，我們剛剛在瑞典的市場份額中達到了歷史最高的領先地位。如你所知，瑞典作為一個非常傳統的口服市場，已經被我們的競爭對手統治了 100 多年。就份額而言，Velo 領先於瑞典整個口腔菸草市場，而不是現代口腔菸草市場。

And this has been reflected wherever we are in terms of leadership. So we are leading in several markets. And the other thing that we are seeing is that even markets where there is no Oral traditional, this product is gaining traction. Here in the U.K., for example, and that was no traction at all. The incidence of Modern Oral is -- are at getting close to 2%, was 1.5% is getting traction now. And we are seeing this phenomenon happening in other markets. For example, in Poland, we started with this product like 2 years ago. And now we have volumes that are really getting to a significant level. And the beauty about these products that the margins, as you probably saw in my presentation are even higher than cigarette. So it's a product that has not even tobacco in it. So the risk profile is really low.

無論我們身處何處，這一點都體現在領導力方面。因此，我們在多個市場處於領先地位。我們看到的另一件事是，即使是沒有口服傳統藥物的市場，該產品也越來越受歡迎。例如，在英國，這根本沒有吸引力。現代口腔的發生率正在接近 2%，以前是 1.5%，現在受到關注。我們在其他市場也看到了這種現象。例如，在波蘭，我們兩年前就開始使用這個產品。現在我們的銷量確實達到了一個顯著的水平。這些產品的美妙之處在於，正如您在我的演示中看到的那樣，其利潤甚至比香煙還要高。所以這是一種甚至不含菸草的產品。所以風險狀況確實很低。

And it can be a way to implement tobacco harm reduction as we see in Sweden. Sweden used to have an incidence of Combustible of 30% in the '70s. Today, like I said in my presentation, it is about to be the first EU smoke-free market at the back of promoting traditional Oral with the incidence of concern reducing dramatically in this period of time. And the margins that we make in oral are higher than the ones we make in cigarettes. So this is a win-win for everyone. And that's exactly the model -- the powerful model that we have. So Modern Oral is a combination of us expanding geographically and is still doing quite well in the markets that we are established. Vapour, we have rolled out our Vuse Go, our modern disposable. We decided to enter in this subcategory because we clearly see a lot of smokers migrating towards this type of product.

正如我們在瑞典看到的那樣，這可以成為減少菸草危害的一種方式。 1970 年代，瑞典的可燃性事故發生率為 30%。今天，正如我在演講中所說，在推廣傳統口腔的背景下，這即將成為歐盟第一個無菸市場，在此期間關注的發生率將大幅下降。我們透過口服產品獲得的利潤比透過捲菸獲得的利潤更高。所以這對每個人來說都是雙贏的。這正是我們擁有的強大模式。因此，Modern Oral 是我們在地理上不斷擴張的組合，並且在我們已建立的市場中仍然表現良好。 Vapour，我們推出了 Vuse Go，我們的現代一次性產品。我們決定進入這個子類別，因為我們清楚地看到很多吸煙者轉向這種類型的產品。

Vapour is -- the level of conversion of cigarette smokers to Vapour is similar to THP. And if anything, in the markets where Vapour and THP are present, we see a higher retention in Vapour than we see in THP in markets where both of them are present. So is a category gaining more and more traction. I'm very pleased with the performance that we are making in terms of the margins. So the margin performance come at the back of, for sure, the scale of it, but also the fact that we are now with a leading brand able to renegotiate trade margins and reducing it, for example, and also taking price. So the revenue improvement that you see is a consequence of expansion, but also us working on the margin side of Vapour that is now getting close to 6%. And we have place already like France where if you take the gross margin equivalent per myblu of cigarettes, we make more money selling Vuse than we do selling our own products of cigarettes in France. In the U.S., we are -- we have margins already equivalent to Pall Mall in cigarettes.

吸煙者轉化為蒸氣的水平與四氫大麻酚相似。如果有什麼不同的話，那就是在 Vapor 和 THP 都存在的市場中，我們發現 Vapor 的保留率高於在這兩種產品都存在的市場中 THP 的保留率。一個類別獲得越來越多的關注也是如此。我對我們在利潤方面的表現非常滿意。因此，利潤率表現當然取決於其規模，但事實上我們現在擁有一個領先品牌，能夠重新談判貿易利潤率並降低貿易利潤率，並接受價格。因此，您看到的收入改善是擴張的結果，但我們也在努力提高 Vapor 的利潤率，目前已接近 6%。我們已經有了像法國這樣的地方，如果按照每支 myblu 捲菸的毛利率計算，我們銷售 Vuse 賺的錢比我們在法國銷售我們自己的捲菸產品賺的錢還要多。在美國，我們的利潤率已經相當於香菸領域的 Pall Mall。

So we are really, really happy with the performance we are making there. And THP is the category where we are highlighting of one area of focus for us in terms of the need to strengthen our offers. I think that glo Hyper X2 go in the right direction. Is it a game change? It's not a game change. It Is an improvement because I address some of the issues or pain points that we had with an offer, having a more sleek and tiny and in a very light device, but there is some more exciting ideas coming along in the next few months ahead, okay?

所以我們對在那裡的表現非常非常滿意。 THP 是我們在需要加強我們的報價方面強調的一個重點領域的類別。我認為 glo Hyper X2 的方向是正確的。這是遊戲改變嗎？這不是遊戲的改變。這是一個進步，因為我解決了我們在報價中遇到的一些問題或痛點，擁有一個更時尚、更小、更輕的設備，但在接下來的幾個月裡會有一些更令人興奮的想法出現，好的？

Jonathan Leinster from Societe Generale.

來自法國興業銀行的喬納森·倫斯特（Jonathan Leinster）。

Yes, a few questions, if I may. First of all, given the recent nationalization of some of the companies that were planning to transfer assets in Russia. Has that changed your plans in any way with regards to your potential transfer in Russia?

是的，如果可以的話，有幾個問題。首先，考慮到一些計劃在俄羅斯轉移資產的公司最近被國有化。這是否改變了你在俄羅斯的潛在轉會計畫？

Okay. Who want to answer, Jonathan, this one. Look, we are determined to leave the country. We have said that last year, as you can imagine, is a very, very complex situation to deal with. And we are following all international and local laws, and this means all the procedures that the authorities locally in Russia has defined and also with a close look to sanctions for sure. And -- but I cannot comment much on that at this moment in time. It will be inappropriate for me to make here further comments on that.

好的。誰想回答一下，喬納森，這個。瞧，我們決心出國。我們說過，正如你可以想像的那樣，去年是一個非常非常複雜的情況。我們遵守所有國際和當地法律，這意味著俄羅斯當地當局定義的所有程序，並且肯定會密切關注制裁。而且——但我現在無法對此發表太多評論。我不適合在此對此發表進一步的評論。

Okay. And secondly, on the U.S. cigarette side, I mean, price mixes clearly decelerated a bit. Is that primarily driven by differences in pricing structure? Or is that driven by the sort of mix shift towards Lucky Strike or a combination of the 2?

好的。其次，在美國捲菸方面，我的意思是，價格組合明顯放緩。這主要是由定價結構的差異所驅動的嗎？或者這是由向 Lucky Strike 的混合轉變或兩者的組合所驅動的？

Yes. We are putting in place commercial plans in the U.S. We are using our revenue growth management to as an area of insights for us. So we can be very granular in terms of how we make our brand more competitive in different geographies within the U.S., not -- you can go -- it's now as to consoles or key accounts and all that. So -- and this is the pricing element that you see is a reflection of those commercial plans in place. We also are taking some initiatives in term laddering some of our brands to make it more resilient in terms of these economic cycles. And this all reflect in the top line that you are seeing.

是的。我們正在美國制定商業計劃。因此，我們可以非常細緻地考慮如何讓我們的品牌在美國不同地區更具競爭力，而不是——你可以——現在是針對遊戲機或大客戶等等。所以——這就是你看到的定價元素，反映了這些商業計劃。我們也採取了一些措施來提升我們的一些品牌，使其在這些經濟週期中更具彈性。這一切都反映在您所看到的頂行中。

But has the sort of [rise] that Lucky Strike is a sort of [see that] discount? Does that had quite a (inaudible)?

但是 Lucky Strike 是否有某種 [上升] 是一種 [看到] 折扣？那有相當（聽不清楚）嗎？

Yes. I would say it is an element to that. For sure, Lucky Strike -- we are very pleased with the performance of Lucky Strike. It Is one of the most successful launch in the U.S. ever. It has just reached above 3% of our total market share in the U.S. And for sure, that the mix -- it will be very different from the ones of Newport and Natural American Spirit. But we -- I would say that most of the impact on the prices coming from the commercial plans that we are putting to improve our competitiveness on the more important premium segments that where we were suffering most.

是的。我想說這是其中的要素。當然，Lucky Strike——我們對 Lucky Strike 的表現非常滿意。這是美國有史以來最成功的發射之一。它剛剛達到我們在美國總市場份額的 3% 以上。但我想說，對價格的大部分影響來自我們為提高我們在更重要的高端細分市場的競爭力而製定的商業計劃，而這些細分市場是我們遭受最嚴重的。

Right. And -- just on the vaping side, again, price mix very strong in the period. Is that reflected -- I mean, as we hear it, is that a reflection again of actual underlying strong price, particularly with Europe and some of the other regions? Is it just a difference with the sort of mix with the introduction of the disposables -- has that caused the sort of price mix to apparently shift quite rapidly with the introduction of those disposable vapes?

正確的。而且，就電子煙而言，這段期間的價格組合非常強勁。這是否反映了——我的意思是，正如我們所聽到的那樣，這是否再次反映了實際潛在的強勁價格，特別是歐洲和其他一些地區的價格？這是否只是與一次性電子煙的引入的混合類型有所不同——這是否導致隨著一次性電子煙的引入，價格混合類型明顯迅速變化？

Jonathan, all the (inaudible) in pricing Vapour in the U.S. take it into consideration a number of things. There revenue growth management is also being applied in Vapour. So for example, we consider the price of Modus, which is not cheap in the U.S., by the way. We consider the price of cigarettes. We consider our main competitor pricing as well in the tracked channels. The fact that we have a pod that has more than doubled the liquid of our main second competitor in the U.S. is another factor. So we put all those things into consideration and the elasticities and understand the consumers. We have been working in different types of product architecture in terms of packs with 1 pod, 2 pods, 4 pods, more recently, even above that, like 6 pods. And then we -- with all that, we have the consolidated view of the price mix you see in our results.

喬納森，美國所有（聽不清楚）定價 Vapor 的人都考慮了很多因素。 Vapour 中也應用了營收成長管理。例如，我們順便考慮一下 Modus 的價格，它在美國並不便宜。我們考慮香煙的價格。我們也會考慮我們主要競爭對手的定價以及追蹤通路中的定價。事實上，我們的煙彈的液體量是我們在美國的第二大競爭對手的兩倍多，這是另一個因素。因此，我們考慮了所有這些因素和彈性並了解消費者。我們一直在研究不同類型的產品架構，包括 1 個煙彈、2 個煙彈、4 個煙彈，最近甚至更高，例如 6 個煙彈。然後我們——有了所有這些，我們就可以在我們的結果中看到價格組合的綜合視圖。

But there is no one single element to point out is a combination of all those different elements. And we'll be keeping this for sure in -- under review and taking immediate actions to that.

但沒有一個單一元素可以指出是所有這些不同元素的組合。我們將肯定對此進行審查並立即採取行動。

(inaudible) USA really because I mean clearly that's why you've launched the sort of the disposable vapes. I was just wondering whether that caused sort of quite a shift in mix and a higher value in the sort of areas where disposable vapes have been launched, which is obviously outside the USA.

（聽不清楚）美國確實是因為我的意思很明確，這就是為什麼你們推出了一次性電子煙。我只是想知道這是否會導致產品組合發生相當大的變化，並在推出一次性電子煙的地區（顯然是在美國以外的地區）產生更高的價值。

So that's what I was trying to add that the Vuse performance as a brand is a strong brand performance, and that is why the growth of the revenue in pricing is driven by both the elements, which is the Vuse closed system and the Vuse Go, which is the disposable part of the brand. So the overall brand pricing is being driven positively and mainly driven by both the elements. So you can't attribute outside the U.S. So that's why I wanted to tackle the point of outside the U.S. that outside the U.S. we still see a strong growth in pricing, which is mainly driven by the strong brand momentum in both these things in the closed systems and also in the introduction and expansion of Vuse Go.

這就是我想補充的，Vuse 作為一個品牌的表現是一個強大的品牌表現，這就是為什麼定價收入的增長是由 Vuse 封閉系統和 Vuse Go 這兩個因素驅動的，這是該品牌的一次性部分。因此，整體品牌定價受到積極推動，並且主要由這兩個因素推動。所以你不能歸因於美國以外的地區。封閉系統以及Vuse Go 的引入和擴展也是如此。

With this, I'd like to hand the call back over to Victoria for any web questions.

有了這個，我想將電話轉給維多利亞，以解答任何網路問題。

Thank you. So we'll now go back to the web, where we've received a question. I think this is for you, Javed. Your Combustible volumes were down 5.7% versus the industry down 3.2%. Why has BAT underperformed the industry?

謝謝。現在我們將回到網絡，我們收到了一個問題。我想這是給你的，賈維德。你們的可燃物銷量下降了 5.7%，而產業下降了 3.2%。為什麼BAT的表現落後於業界？

So I think this one is very simple 2 points. One is the biggest impact is coming from the highly driven excise-driven price increases in Pakistan. So excise-driven volume decline in Pakistan. And then also the overall industry decline in U.S. But if I just take Pakistan, for example, if you deduct Pakistan out of industry and BAT volumes, we are looking at a volume decline of 2% where BAT actually starts doing better. And given our very strong presence in Pakistan, that is why you see a strong decline. But these are the 2 elements. Rest is very minor changes. But these are the 2 things, excise-driven volume in Pakistan and also overall industry decline in U.S.

所以我覺得這個很簡單2點。其中之一是最大的影響來自巴基斯坦高度受消費稅驅動的價格上漲。因此，巴基斯坦的消費稅導致銷售下降。然後美國的整體產業也在下降。鑑於我們在巴基斯坦的影響力非常強大，這就是為什麼我們會看到強勁的下降。但這是兩個要素。休息是非常小的變化。但有兩件事，巴基斯坦的消費稅驅動的銷售以及美國的整體產業下滑。

I think that is the part, just to add to what Javed is saying that we don't adjust the volumes to the markets where we are phasing out the likes of, for example, Egypt, which is still part of that. And if you consider that, for example, we'll be together with Russia, which we don't manage basically, and this would be 1% out of the 5.7%. So what is left is basically what Javed has explained in those 2 markets.

我認為這就是部分內容，只是補充 Javed 所說的，我們不會根據我們正在逐步淘汰的市場調整產量，例如埃及，埃及仍然是其中的一部分。如果你考慮到，例如，我們將與俄羅斯在一起，我們基本上不管理俄羅斯，這將是 5.7% 中的 1%。所以剩下的基本上就是 Javed 在這兩個市場中所解釋的內容。

Thank you. Well, we don't appear to have any further questions on the web. If there are any outstanding questions, please don't hesitate to contact the IR team. But with that, I'm now going to hand back to Tadeu for closing comments.

謝謝。好吧，我們在網上似乎沒有任何進一步的問題。如果有任何未決問題，請隨時聯繫 IR 團隊。但話雖如此，我現在將把結論交還給塔德。

Okay. So thank you for joining us today and for your participation in our Q&A session. As you can see, we have delivered a resilient performance in the first half. I'm delighted that we are on track for our full year guidance. And I hope you can -- all of you can see that the renewed sense of energy across the organization, which I feel are around me every day. So while there is much more to do, I'm confident that together, we will accelerate our transformation and deliver long-term multi-stakeholder value. We look forward to update you again in December at our pre-close trading update. Thank you very much.

好的。感謝您今天加入我們並參與我們的問答環節。正如您所看到的，我們在上半年表現出色。我很高興我們的全年指引已步入正軌。我希望你們所有人都能看到整個組織煥發的活力，我感覺這種活力每天都在我身邊。因此，儘管還有很多工作要做，但我相信，我們將齊心協力，加速轉型並實現長期的多利益相關者價值。我們期待在 12 月的收市前交易更新中再次向您通報最新情況。非常感謝。