The Imperial Tobacco Group's volume cigarette sales during the 12 months to the end of September, at 308.7 billion, were 4.2 per cent down on those of the previous 12 months.
Sales were up by 1.4 per cent to 21.1 billion in the UK; down by 2.9 per cent to 23.2 billion in Germany; down by 16.5 per cent to 25.3 billion in Spain; up 0.5 per cent to 59.6 billion in the rest of Europe; down by 13.8 per cent to 11.9 billion in the Americas; and down by 3.7 per cent to 167.6 billion in the rest of the world.
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Fine cut sales in white stick equivalents were up by 8.7 per cent to 39.8 billion; so, overall, white stick equivalent sales were down by 2.9 per cent to 348.5 billion.
Fine cut sales were up by 5.7 per cent to 2,800 tonnes in the UK; up by 6.3 per cent to 5,900 tonnes in Germany; down by 74.1 per cent to 1,350 tonnes in Spain; up by 18.6 per cent to 15,000 tonnes in the rest of Europe; down by 53.8 per cent to 300 tonnes in the Americas; and up by 4.8 per cent to 2,200 tonnes in the rest of the world.
The company's global strategic brands Davidoff, West and Gauloises Blondes, which account for about 22 per cent of its overall cigarette volume, were said to have performed well. Davidoff volumes were up by three per cent and West volumes were up by two per cent. Gauloises Blondes volumes were said to have been up by four per cent in the second half of the year following a temporary supply disruption in the Middle East earlier in the year.
"In Eastern Europe, we have grown volumes of Davidoff by 20 per cent with particular success in the growing superslims and kingsize superslims segments," the company said in announcing its preliminary results for the year. "We continued to grow Davidoff's market share in many markets including in Ukraine, Saudi Arabia and Greece."
"We grew volumes of West in the value cigarette segment and delivered additional brand innovations with specialised filters and variants adding an extra dimension for consumers, resulting in particularly impressive growth in Turkey and Taiwan."
"Gauloises Blondes has continued to consolidate its position, celebrating its centenary in 2010 with a series of limited edition packs and new variants which were well received by consumers. We have further extended the brand's reach, with a particular focus on Eastern Europe and notable early success in the Balkans."
Sales volumes of the regional value brand, JPS, grew by 13 per cent and were said to have delivered significant market share growth in a number of Imperial's major European markets, including those in the UK and Germany, and that in Australia.
Fine cut sales made good progress in Central Europe, with volumes up by 54 per cent across the region and those of Paramount up by 67 per cent.
Ducados Rubio, launched in Spain in June as the country's first expanded fine cut tobacco product, captured 5.8 per cent of the local market.
Snus volumes in Scandinavia were up by 24 per cent, and Imperial reported that "in cigars, despite the challenging environment, we grew sales and profits with the ongoing recovery of our Habanos business".
On an adjusted basis, Imperial's tobacco net revenue was increased by three per cent to £7,055 million, while its logistics distribution fees were down by three per cent to £936 million.
Operating profit was increased by five per cent to £3,067 million, profit before tax was up by 10 per cent to £2,467 million and earnings per share (EPS) were up by 11 per cent to 178.8p.
On a reported basis, revenue was up by six per cent to £28,173 million, operating profit was increased by eight per cent to £2,528 million and profit before tax was up by 124 per cent to £2,118 million. Basic EPS was up 127 per cent to 148.5p and diluted EPS was up 127 per cent to 148.0p.
"This strong set of results demonstrates the success of our strategy and the versatility of our total tobacco portfolio," said chief executive, Alison Cooper.
"We delivered some excellent brand and product performances in both mature and emerging markets, including further gains from our global strategic cigarette brands Davidoff, Gauloises Blondes and West. This was complemented by growth from a number of regional and local brands, particularly JPS which continues to go from strength to strength.
"We also delivered another very strong fine cut tobacco performance, growing our volumes by almost nine per cent.
"Whilst driving sales across our balanced market footprint we have maintained our focus on cash generation, reducing our level of adjusted net debt by £1.5 billion to £9.3 billion.
"Our priority is to build on this strong performance and I am confident that our enhanced sales agenda, combined with our focus on cost optimisation and cash utilisation, will create further sustainable returns for our shareholders." Enditem
