Imperial Brands Plc, the maker of Winston and Gauloises cigarettes, forecast an acceleration in second-half earnings, helped by price increases.
(Bloomberg) — Imperial Brands Plc, the maker of Winston and Gauloises cigarettes, forecast an acceleration in second-half earnings, helped by price increases.
Volumes declined in the first half of the year as consumers returned to pre-Covid buying patterns and after Imperial exited Russia last year, the UK tobacco company said Tuesday.
Gains in the US, Australia and Spain offset declines in Germany and UK. Imperial said it’s still on track to deliver faster profit growth in the second half, in line with its previous guidance.
Chief Executive Officer Stefan Bomhard is now in the third year of a five-year turnaround plan, and the CEO has set a goal for an acceleration in earnings growth. The forecast is for average growth of a mid-single digit percentage at constant currencies. The company repeated guidance that this year growth will be at the low end of the target.
First-half adjusted operating profit was similar to last year on a constant currency basis, the company said.
Revenue dropped 1% on a constant currency basis, hurt by the company’s exit from Russia.
The company cut its quarterly dividend by 12%.
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