From British American Tobacco to Tanqueray gin maker Diageo, cigarette and alcohol companies cited strong demand for high-end products people can't seem to shake when they reported results this week. Since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, U.S. sales of premium spirits have risen nearly 3% to $3.76 billion, according to NielsenIQ. Meanwhile, sales of luxury tobacco products - cigars, cigarillos and smoking tobacco - are expected to rise 7.5% to over $95 billion, according to Euromonitor. Price hikes and luxury brands helped BAT beat first-half revenue and margin forecasts on Wednesday. While production problems hampered Volkswagen's mass-market businesses, premium brands boosted the carmaker's finances, with Audi seeing a 51% jump in operating profit and Porsche up 22%.

Source: News 24 July 31, 2022 20:30 UTC