Imperial Delivers Strong Set of Results

Source from:  Tobacco Reporter 11/11/2009

The Imperial Tobacco Group's volume cigarette sales during the 12 months to the end of September, at 322.2 billion, were increased by 9.5 per cent on those of the previous 12-months period. The Group's latest performance reflects a full year's contribution from Altadis, compared with only an eight months' contribution during the year to the end of September 2008. Sales were up by 3.9 per cent to 23.9 billion in Germany, by 31.7 per cent to 30.3 billion in Spain, by 3.7 per cent to 59.3 billion in the Rest of the EU, and by 12.8 per cent to 174.1 billion in the Rest of the World. Sales were down by 2.8 per cent to 20.8 billion in the UK, and by 9.2 per cent to 13.8 billion in the Americas. World-wide, fine cut sales were up by 3.2 per cent to 25,950 tonnes, with increases in all of the regions except the Rest of the EU where sales were down by 11.5 per cent to 12,650 tonnes. Fine-cut sales were up by 12.8 per cent to 2,650 tonnes in the UK, by 29.1 per cent to 5,550 tonnes in Germany, by 51.6 per cent to 2,350 tonnes in Spain, by 8.3 per cent to 650 tonnes in the Americas, and by 2.4 per cent to 2,100 tonnes in the Rest of the World. "We have driven sales across our portfolio with growth in our key international cigarette brands Davidoff, Gauloises Blondes and JPS supported by good gains from our regional and local brands," said CEO, Gareth Davis, summarising today's announcement of the company's preliminary 12-months results. "We delivered a strong operational and financial performance, improving sales and profits in mature and emerging markets whilst making excellent progress on integration and considerably strengthening our balance sheet. "In the second half of the year, the first period offering a true comparison since the Altadis acquisition, we delivered five per cent growth in tobacco net revenues and seven per cent growth in adjusted profit from operations at constant currency and before synergy benefits… "The external environment is challenging but our balanced portfolio and geographic reach, combined with our enhanced focus on sales excellence and effective cost and cash management, leaves us well placed to continue to reward our shareholders with sustainable growth," Davis added. Imperial reported revenue up 29 per cent to ￡26,517 million, profit from operations up 59 per cent to ￡2,337 million, profit before tax up 52 per cent to ￡945 million, basic earnings per share up 29 per cent to 65.5p, diluted earnings per share up 30 per cent to 65.3 p, and dividend per share up 16 per cent to 73.0p. Adjusted profit from operations was up 32 per cent to ￡2,933 million, adjusted profit before tax was up 39 per cent to ￡2,233 million, and adjusted earnings per share were up 18 per cent to 161.8p. Enditem