Cigarette giant British American Tobacco (BAT) stuck to its full-year targets despite seeing currency fluctuations hold back profits.

Chairman Martin Broughton still expected high single figure growth in earnings this year as BAT's leading brands continued to gain ground.

Volume sales of the group's four global brands - Lucky Strike, Kent, Dunhill and Pall Mall - were up almost 15 per cent in the third quarter of the year.

Pre-tax profits for the three months, to September 30, rose three per cent to £608 million as the group benefited from lower interest and one-off charges.

But BAT said currency fluctuations had wiped £45 million off operating profits as the group suffered from a weaker US dollar and South African rand.

Mr Broughton added the currency movements meant underlying operating profits were down one per cent for the first nine months at £2.1 billion.

He insisted the group had achieved "a good underlying performance" given the economic climate and increasingly competitive environment.

BAT warned ten months ago volume sales would fall this year due to the economic gloom and a clampdown on illegal cross-border trafficking.

Volume sales in the third quarter were down two per cent, in line with goals for the full-year, meaning volumes for the first nine months were down four per cent.

Profits from the America-Pacific region in the nine-month period rose £31 million to £769 million with market share on the up in the US.

Analysts expect BAT to report pre-tax profits of £2.6 billion this year and shares in the business edged ahead 1.5p to 625p.