British American Tobacco sees next-generation products doubling in 2018

LONDON, Oct (Shenzhen: 000069.SZ - news) 25 (Reuters) - British American Tobacco (Kuala Lumpur: 4162.KL - news) , the world's biggest international tobacco company, expects its "next generation products" to generate revenue of over 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion) next year, doubling from more than 500 million this year.

It said those products, which include e-cigarettes and devices that heat tobacco without burning it, should exceed revenue of 5 billion pounds by 2022.

That business, still small compared with its traditional cigarette business, should break even by the end of 2018 and deliver "substantial profit" by 2022, BAT said on Wednesday, ahead of a day of briefings for analysts and investors. ($1 = 0.7615 pounds) (Reporting by Martinne Geller; Editing by David Holmes)