4th May 2016 06:48
LONDON (Alliance News) - Imperial Brands PLC on Wednesday reported a drop in profit in the first half of its financial year as it booked higher costs, but revenue rose helped by its acquisition of ITG Brands last year.
The tobacco company said its pretax profit in the six months ended March 31 more than halved to GBP452 million from GBP1.05 billion in the first half of the prior year, despite revenue rising to GBP12.81 billion from GBP12.13 billion.
Imperial said revenue benefited from the acquisition of ITG Brands in the US last year, but that profit was hurt by higher administration, restructuring and advertising costs, while the prior-year first half also benefited from higher investment income.
Imperial will pay an interim dividend of 47 pence per share, which is up 10% on the prior year.
"We're focused on maintaining momentum in the second half and remain on track to meet full-year expectations and create significant value for our shareholders," Chief Executive Alison Cooper said in a statement.
By Karolina Kaminska; [email protected] @KarolinaAllNews
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