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Imperial shares rise after sales boost
Imperial Tobacco, the world’s fourth-biggest cigarette maker, posted a five per cent rise in quarterly sales and saw its shares rise this morning
Imperial, with cigarette brands including Lambert & Butler, West and Gauloises, was reporting on its first-quarter trading from October to December 2010 on Wednesday within its current financial year to end-September 2011.
The group said its cigarette volumes rose 0.5 per cent in the quarter and when adding in fine-cut loose tobacco, then stick equivalent volumes rose 1.2 per cent.
Chief executive Alison Cooper said in a statement: “We made a good start to the year with underlying tobacco revenues up five per cent.”