Imperial Tobacco suffers as cigarette volumes fall
IMPERIAL Tobacco, the world’s fourth-biggest cigarette maker, said cigarette volumes fell 4.3 per cent in the nine months to June – a worsening from a 3.7 per cent decline in its first half.
Imperial, with cigarette brands including Lambert & Butler, West and Gauloises, said declines in Russia, Spain, Ukraine and the United States were being partly offset by gains in central Europe.
Chief executive Alison Cooper, who took over from Gareth Davis in May, said: “Overall we are performing well in what remains a challenging operating environment.”
She added: “Our Global Strategic cigarette brands continue to grow and we saw some strong performances from a number of our regional and local brands.”
The company said its overall financial performance and position remained in line with the board’s expectations.