Imperial Brands: Rizla-maker kicks off bumper buyback with £550m purchase
Imperial Brands, the tobacco giant behind Lambert & Butler, Rizla and Gauloises, said it would kick off a fresh £550m share buyback this morning after launching a new drive to reclaim shares yesterday.
The latest clawback comes after the cigarette maker launched a rotating programme in October last year, with the first £1bn buyback completed in September and reclaiming some 5.5 per cent of share capital.
The firm said yesterday it intends to repurchase up to £1.1bn with the latest drive.
“The share buyback is in line with the Company’s policy to distribute surplus capital to shareholders,” the firm said in a statement.
Bankers at Morgan Stanley have been called in to help coordinate the programme.
Imperial Brands said yesterday it expects that capital returns to shareholders will exceed £2.4bn in the coming fiscal year, representing about 17 per cent of its total value. In a trading update yesterday Imperial said it was on track to hit its targets for the year as operating profits reached £1.5bn.