Imperial Tobacco boosts market share, revenues in Russia in H1 FY 2015
MOSCOW. May 6 (Interfax) - Cigarette maker Imperial Tobacco Group Plc saw overall sales of tobacco products fall to 138.2 billion units in the first half of the 2015 financial year ending March 31 from 140.1 billion units the year before, the company said in a statement. Key brands such as Davidoff, Gauloises Blondes, JPS, West and others, saw sales grow 12%, the company said.
Revenues from tobacco sales fell to 2.95 billion pounds sterling from 3.05 billion the previous year. Adjusted operating profit grew to 1.37 billion pounds sterling from 1.35 billion.
Changes in regulation and the excise policy led to a 10% decrease in the Russian market, Imperial said. Against this backdrop, Imperial Tobacco performed well in Russia, supported by a change in prices. The company was also able to boost its market share thanks to the brand Maxim and sales of Davidoff and West.
The company did not disclose its sales performance in Russia, noting only that H1 revenues were higher than in the previous year thanks to prices.
Imperial Tobacco operates in 160 countries and is headquartered in Great Britain. Its brands include Davidoff, Gauloises Blondes and West. The company also has local brands on the Russian market: Maxim, Zolotoye Koltso, Valkanskaya Zvezda and Stolichniye.
In Russia, the company owns LLC Imperial Tobacco Sales and Marketing (Moscow), LLC Imperial Tobacco Volga (Volgograd) and CJSC Imperial Tobacco Yaroslavl. According to the SPARK-Interfax database, Imperial Tobacco Sales and Marketing, a wholesale tobacco retailer, had net profit of 2.86 billion rubles in 2013 on revenues of 33.64 billion rubles.
