23rd Sep 2005 13:45
Imperial Tobacco Group PLC23 September 2005 IMPERIAL TOBACCO GROUP ANNOUNCES RESTRUCTURING OF MANUFACTURING OPERATIONS Imperial Tobacco Group plans to further restructure its manufacturing operationsas part of an ongoing commitment to enhance productivity, improve efficienciesand reduce overall costs. The Group continues to review its global manufacturing portfolio in order tostrengthen its competitive position and address over-capacity. Today itannounced plans to relocate approximately 10 billion cigarettes for Central andEastern Europe from Germany to Poland. As a result of the restructuring, production will be reduced at the Berlinfactory, which will continue to manufacture cigarettes for the German market.The Group's larger manufacturing site in Langenhagen, near Hannover, will becomeits main factory in Germany. The restructuring will improve the Group's competitive position in Germany,where successive tax increases have led to a significant decline in the dutypaid cigarette market. Relocating Central and Eastern European volume to the Group's factory in Polandwill further enhance efficiencies and result in lower overall costs in theregion. The restructuring is expected to be completed within a year and will result inthe loss of around 200 jobs at Berlin, although there will be some redeploymentopportunities. The Berlin factory continues to be a significant cigarette manufacturingfacility in the Imperial Tobacco Group. David Cresswell, Imperial Tobacco Group Manufacturing Director, said: "Joblosses are always regrettable and our focus will be on continuing to support ouremployees, ensuring that they are treated in a fair and responsible manner." Employees, the works council and trade unions were informed of the decisiontoday and the consultation process with the relevant bodies is now underway. The restructuring is expected to generate annual cost savings of around £10million from the 2007 financial year. It is anticipated that there will be arestructuring charge of £30 million. Mr Cresswell added: "This restructuring will consolidate our operations andfurther increase manufacturing efficiencies. Our continued focus on achievingthe lowest overall manufacturing cost will ensure that we continue to strengthenour competitive position in a challenging environment." There will be no impact on sales and marketing activities, or the quality andavailability of any Imperial Tobacco Group products as a result of therestructuring. Today's announcement follows several previous restructuring initiatives sincethe acquisition of Reemtsma in May 2002, including the closure of eight ImperialTobacco Group manufacturing sites. Enquiries Alex Parsons Group Media Relations Manager Tel: +44 (0)117 933 7241 Lars Grosskurth Communications Manager Germany Tel: +49 40 8220 1465 John Nelson-Smith Investor Relations Manager Tel: +44 (0)117 933 7032 NOTES TO EDITORS Imperial Tobacco Group Imperial Tobacco Group is the world's fourth largest international tobaccocompany. The Group manufactures and sells a comprehensive range of cigarettes,tobaccos, rolling papers and cigars in 130 countries worldwide. It currently has15,000 employees and 32 manufacturing sites. Manufacturing Sites The cigarette factory in Berlin has around 550 employees and produced 24 billioncigarettes in the last financial year. It predominantly manufactures West for anumber of markets, including Germany. The Berlin factory will continue tomanufacture cigarettes for the German market. The cigarette factory in Langenhagen has around 500 employees and produced 20billion cigarettes in the same period. It predominantly manufactures Davidofffor a number of markets, including Germany, and will become the Group's mainfactory in Germany. The cigarette factory in Poland has around 250 employees and produced 10 billioncigarettes in the same period. It manufactures a number of brands for Centraland Eastern Europe markets, including West, R1, Maxim, Mars and Mocne. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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