Illustration. ( AFP / JOEL SAGET )
The British tobacco giant Imperial Brands published an increasing annual profit on Tuesday: cigarette sales are declining but prices are soaring, while “new generation products” (such as those dedicated to vaping) continue to grow.
The group announced on Tuesday a net profit, group share, up 12% to 2.6 billion pounds (3.1 billion euros) for its staggered financial year ending September 30, despite a very slight decline in its turnover. business to 32.4 billion pounds.
For combustible tobacco, the volume sold declined by 4%, but the turnover on these products, which notably include the Gauloises, JPS and Winston cigarette brands, increased, boosted by price increases of nearly 8%. %.
Imperial Brands notes an increase in its market shares in four out of five “priority” countries (United States, Germany, Spain and Australia), but sees a decline in the United Kingdom.
In this country, Imperial Brands says it is seeing an “overall decline in market size” due to tax increases but also “the growth of the illicit market for tobacco and vaping products”.
The United Kingdom also wants to gradually become tobacco-free: a bill was presented to Parliament at the beginning of the month to ban its sale to the generation born after 2009, an ambitious measure which would make the country a pioneer in this area.
Imperial Brands at the same time saw its turnover for new generation products (heated tobacco, electronic cigarettes or oral nicotine sachets) increase by 26.4% over the period at constant exchange rate, even if this division still remains relatively small and does not generate a profit.
If “the evolution of lifestyles and the tightening of regulations constantly weigh on this sector”, tobacco “remains a product whose demand is inelastic”, which means that the group can afford to “increase the price without slowing down its sales even further, notes Richard Hunter, analyst at interactive investor.
The group is taking the opportunity to redistribute part of its profits to its shareholders: it has increased its annual dividend by 4.5%, and plans to repurchase 1.25 billion pounds of shares for the current financial year, an increase of almost 14% over one year.
Imperial Brands shares on the London Stock Exchange rose 1.21% around 10:00 GMT.
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