Puffed: Imperial Brands shares drop on vaping slowdown
Shares in cigarette maker Imperial Brands fell more than five per cent today after it announced weaker-than-expected e-cigarette sales.
Read more: Imperial Brands boosts revenue as its bets on vaping
The company boosted its half-year net revenue 3.8 per cent to £3.6bn and earnings-per-share increase 1.1 per cent to 115.6p, ahead of analysts’ forecasts.
However, it reported revenue of only £148m from its next-generation products (NGP) range, falling short of the £176m predicted by analysts.
Shares fell 5.4 per cent to 2,201p.
The company’s NGP range includes its vaping brand Blu, its heated tobacco offering Pulze which is available in Japan and tobacco-free oral nicotine products available in Scandinavia.
Imperial blamed a slowdown in sales in the US of its Blu brand for the missing forecasts.
The company reiterated its full-year targets, with revenue growth forecast at or above the upper end of a one-to-four per cent range and earnings per share growth towards the lower end of a four-to-eight per cent range.
Chief executive Alison Cooper said: “We have made significant progress in building our NGP business with investment behind myblu generating awareness and consumer adoption, resulting in leading retail shares in most markets.
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“We are building on this momentum in the second half focused on further omnichannel expansion and new product initiatives. We have set the foundations for accelerated revenue growth and we are on track to meet our full year expectations."