Imperial Brands pulls out of Russia, writes off GBP225 mln

MOSCOW. April 20 (Interfax) - Imperial Brands has transferred its Russian business to investors based in Russia, subject to finalization of the registration of the transaction with local authorities, which is expected to take place shortly, the tobacco producer said in a press release.

The company did not say how much the deal was worth or who the new owner will be.

The company estimates a non-cash write off of around GBP225 million for this transaction.

Imperial Brands said in March that it was suspending operations in Russia, including production at its factory in Volgograd, as well as sales and marketing.

UK-based Imperial Brands Plc, a division of Imperial Tobacco, produces cigarettes under brand names that include Davidoff, Gauloises, JPS, Fine and West.

In Russia, the company operates through Imperial Tobacco Volga LLC, the production entity, and Imperial Tobacco Sales and Marketing LLC, which saw its revenue fall 1.1% to 69.94 billion rubles and net profit 71.4% to 141 million rubles in 2021, according to SPARK-Interfax.