Imperial Brands (LON: IMB) said on Tuesday its revenue posted a modest increase in the fiscal first half attributed to greater demand in the U.S. for e-cigarettes and cigars. Higher cigarette prices, the company added, also helped boost revenue.
Imperial Brands shares jumped close to 2% in premarket trading on Tuesday. Including the price action, the stock is now exchanging hands at £16.17 per share. In comparison, the tobacco company had started the year 2021 at a lower £15.50 per share.
Imperials Brands to focus investments on five of its largest cigarette markets
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Imperial Brands reported £3.57 billion of organic revenue on an adjusted basis for the six months that concluded on 31st March that represents a 3.5% annualised growth on constant currencies. The increase in revenue was primarily attributed to tobacco prices in the U.S. that were up 5.3% on average in H1.
The United States, which marks the largest market for the London-listed company by sales and cigar volumes, saw a 62.5% increase in volumes on the back of new products that resulted in an 8.8% year over year increase in sales.
As part of a turnaround, CEO Stefan Bomhard wants to focus investments on Imperial’s five largest cigarette markets. He also wants to increase sales of e-cigarettes in the U.S. and tobacco-heating products in Europe.
In separate news from the United Kingdom, Topps Tiles said it swung to a loss due to the COVID-19 restrictions.
Imperials Brands announces 42.12 pence per share of a dividend
Imperial Brands announced 42.12 pence per share of a dividend for the first half on Tuesday versus the year-ago figure of 41.70 pence per share. On an adjusted basis, the Bristol-based firm earned 107 pence per share in the recent period, compared to a marginally higher 107.7 pence per share expected.
Imperial Brands kept its forecast for the full year at up to 5% growth in organic operating profit (adjusted) at constant currencies. For the second half, the British firm expects modest growth in profit from its tobacco business. In the previous financial year, Imperial Brands had noted £2.17 billion of pre-tax profit, as per the report published in November.
Imperial Brands performed fairly downbeat in the stock market last year with an annual decline of more than 20%. At the time of writing, the British multinational tobacco company has a market cap of £15.30 billion and a price to earnings ratio of 10.23.
