BENGALURU (Feb 17): British American Tobacco forecast on Wednesday e-cigarette and tobacco heating devices would contribute to earnings for the first time this year as more smokers switch to products perceived as less harmful in the pandemic.
The maker of Lucky Strike and Newport cigarettes saw three million more customers use its new categories products - including e-cigarette, tobacco heating and oral nicotine - during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
It also sold more higher priced cigarettes, helping adjusted earnings to reach 331.7 pence per share (EPS), beating analysts average estimate of 329.87 pence, according to Refinitiv data.
However, pretax profits fell short of expectations, knocking shares in the world s second-largest tobacco company down around 5% in early trading.
The Rothmans and Dunhill maker said sales of new categories jumped by 14.9 per cent, thanks to revenues from its vapour and modern oral products each rising by more than half.
British American Tobacco adds three million more vaping and oral product users as sales of tobacco continue to plunge msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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The vaccination push provides a vital shot in the arm for the world’s battle against the pandemic, but it’s also a topic ripe for exploitation by fraudsters and purveyors of misinformation
The rollouts of COVID-19 vaccines are steadily gaining speed, sparking hope that we may see the end of the pandemic and return to normal life sooner rather than later. This, however, has not escaped the notice of enterprising scammers who would like to cash in on the vaccine distribution effort by using fake offers and spewing out fraudulent emails.
Let’s dive in and look at some of the campaigns where cybercriminals attempt to relieve unsuspecting netizens of their personal information and money or spread baseless claims about the vaccines.
High school wrestlers in Maine bitter about lost opportunities
The vast majority of states are offering interscholastic wrestling this winter, but Maine wrestlers cannot even scrimmage against teammates during practices because of pandemic safety precautions.
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Since his freshman year, Noble High’s Josh Cote had set a goal of becoming the first four-time state champion in the school’s historic program. Now a senior, he won’t get the chance because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer
Were it not for the coronavirus pandemic, Noble High senior Josh Cote would have had the chance to become the first four-time state champion in the school’s distinguished wrestling history. Instead, he’s annoyed and frustrated by the state’s unwillingness to try to put together a wrestling season – especially because a few miles from the North Berwick school, the wrestling season is already underway.