UK
Imperial Brands stemmed the decline in cigarette sales volumes in the second half of this year by focusing on key brands and controlling price hikes.
In the first half of the year, the company’s sales volumes fell 5.7%. This figure dropped to only 2.6% in the following six months, against an industry average of 4.5%.
Imperial sold the equivalent of 265.2 billion cigarettes in the year to September 30 as well as grew its market share in the UK, Germany, Russia, and Japan.
Allison Cooper, Imperial Brands’ chief executive, said both mass-market and premium cigars helped operating profits jump 10% to just over GBP1 billion in the US, the most lucrative tobacco market outside China.