By Michael Susin and Elena Vardon


Imperial Brands backed its profit and revenue guidance for fiscal 2024 after a first-half performance supported by strong tobacco pricing.

The FTSE 100 tobacco group on Tuesday said it continues to expect adjusted operating profit--the company's preferred metric, which strips out exceptional and other one-off items--for the year ending Sept. 30 to be close to the middle of its mid-single digit range and its revenue to grow in the low-single digits.

Imperial Brands--which houses Davidoff, Gauloises and JPS among its brands--said its performance for the first half of the year was driven by combustibles pricing and growth in its new generation products--its harm-reduced alternatives to cigarettes.

"We have delivered strong pricing, more than offsetting wider industry volume pressures in certain markets," it said.

Adjusted group operating profit for the six months is expected to be ahead of that of the same period the year prior with growth in the low single digits as previously guided, it said.

New generation products revenue for the first half is expected to grow in the mid- to high-teens at constant currency, it added.


Write to Michael Susin at michael.susin@wsj.com and to Elena Vardon at elena.vardon@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-09-24 0238ET