Imperial Brands FY profit down but revenue, dividend lifted
Imperial Brands reported a drop in profit for the year to end of September, but revenue rose and the FTSE 100 tobacco company upped its dividend by 10%.
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Net profit fell to £631m from £1.7bn as costs rose, but revenue was up 9.3% to £27.63bn and Imperial lifted its dividend to 155.2p per share from 141p the year before.
In addition, the group announced plans to invest £300m in its growth and specialist brands in the key markets that offer the best opportunities for “quality growth” and said it will be supported by a new phase of cost optimisation, targeting a further £300m of annual savings by 2020, at a cost of £750m.
Chief executive Alison Cooper said: “We delivered another strong performance this year with great results from our expanded US business, and we further improved the quality of our growth. We grew the dividend by 10% for the eighth consecutive year and remain committed to this level of increase over the medium term.
“Our strategy is delivering and we see scope for significant further shareholder value creation by remaining relentlessly focused on the same four strategic priorities. We are today also announcing further investment behind our strategy to support revenue growth over the medium term.”