Imperial Ambitious On NGPs

Source from:  Tobacco Reporter 09/28/2018

Imperial Brands said today that it would be hosting a capital markets event in London this afternoon focused on the Group’s Next Generation Products (NGP) business.

The event coincides with the issuing today of a trading update.

‘Today’s event will provide insights into how we are executing against our NGP strategy,’ Imperial said in a note posted on its website. ‘At the heart of our strategy is a desire to create something better for the world’s smokers. We want smokers to switch to alternative products with lower health risks. We are enabling this transition by providing an outstanding vaping experience, endorsed by a trusted brand and underpinned by leading edge science.’

Imperial said the event’s presentations would set out the considerable potential NGP offered consumers and why this potential would be additive also for Imperial and its shareholders. ‘We will highlight how we are developing the pioneering brand blu with a compelling vaping proposition and a dynamic innovation pipeline to appeal to adult smokers,’ Imperial said. ‘Our omnichannel approach is building distribution strength across traditional retail outlets, vape stores and online, ensuring our products are available when and where smokers want to buy them.

‘The strong growth in sales of myblu, with an increasing rate of pod repurchase, reflects a really positive response from smokers, vapers and retailers across our current market footprint. Revenues have been gaining momentum this year, resulting in an annualised exit run-rate of around ￡0.3bn, positioning the Group well for accelerated growth in FY19 and beyond.

‘Our NGP ambitions are reflected in our management incentives to deliver compound annual revenue growth of 35-150 percent over the three years to FY20. The upper end of this range equates to NGP revenues of around ￡1.5 billion in FY20. We also have clear levers to drive profitability and expect the NGP business to begin to contribute to Group profit as we exit FY19, with margins continuing to build thereafter.’

Imperial said that it was announcing today plans to launch, Pulze, a heated tobacco product early next calendar yackdown on smokingPolice officers in the Philippines have arrested more than 291,000 individuals in three months for violating local laws in Metro Manila, according to an ABS-CBN News story citing government figures.

Most of the violations had to do with smoking tobacco in places where smoking is banned.

According to the National Capital Region Police Office, the majority of those arrested between June 13 and September 24 broke local laws in Metro Manila’s largest conurbation, Quezon City, where police arrested 156,017 people.

More than 66,500 people were arrested in the areas under the jurisdiction of the Eastern Police District, and more than 29,200 were arrested in Manila City.

The intensified operations against people violating city ordinances began in June when President Rodrigo Duterte issued a directive and called loiterers “potential trouble for the public”.

The police figures show that most of those arrested, 97,685, violated the smoking ban, while 22,407 were arrested for being ‘half-naked in public’.

About 21,700 people were arrested for violating the curfew on minors, 15,140 were arrested for drinking in public places, and 134,576 were arrested in connection with violations of other ordinances.

Of the people arrested, 205,004 or 70 percent were warned, 52,823 were fined, while 33,680 were charged.

At least 32 ordinance violators were still in police custody when the story was published yesterday.  Enditem