Increased sales of tobacco products in the Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East were not enough to offset a steady sales decline in the US and much of Europe for Imperial Tobacco (IMT). However, the group's cost-cutting programme should deliver £300m of savings a year by 2018 - £30m of which will be realised in this year's second half.
Operating profits in the rest of the European Union unit, which excludes Germany and Spain, fell from £321m to £284m, while operating profit fell 31 per cent in the Americas to £58m. But profit rose in the UK by 6.2 per cent to £325m, thanks to a change in the sales mix and higher prices, while adjusted operating profit in Germany grew by 2 per cent to £214m. Inevitably, areas hit by weak economic conditions and austerity measures suffered the hardest, with profit in Spain having slumped 15 per cent to £87m. The logistics side of the business, meanwhile, saw profits slide by 1.3 per cent on a constant currency basis to £74m, although cost savings did go some way towards offsetting a 4.1 per cent dip in distribution fees here.
Broker Investec Securities expects full-year adjusted pre-tax profit of £2.72bn, giving adjusted EPS of 211.8p (from £2.63bn and 200.4p in 2012).
| IMPERIAL TOBACCO (IMT) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 2,307p | MARKET VALUE: | £22.5bn | |
| TOUCH: | 2,306-2,307p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 2,629p | LOW: 2,224p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 4.7% | PE RATIO: | 47 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 635p* | NET DEBT: | 179% | |
| Half-year to 31 Mar | Turnover (£bn) | Pre-tax profit (£bn) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 14.0 | 1.11 | 82.5 | 31.7 |
| 2013 | 13.4 | 0.85 | 63.8 | 35.2 |
| % change | -4 | -23 | -23 | +11 |
Ex-div: 17 Jul Payment: 16 Aug *Includes intangible assets of £18.5bn, or 1,897p a share | ||||
