Imperial Tobacco first-half volume declined an adjusted 5 per cent in part due to market disruption in strife ridden Iraq, the company said.

Reported volume at 138.2 billion stick equivalents (including hand-rolled tobacco) was 1.9 billion units or 1 per cent less than in the first six months of last fiscal year, Imperial said. Operating profit dipped 2 per cent to GBP 959 million (EUR 1.3 billion).
Excluding Iraq, adjusted tobacco volume dipped 3 per cent, which was 80 percentage points less than the industry average for the six months period in markets where Imperial operates. Growth brand performance was “excellent”, with adjusted volume 12 per cent higher and net sales up 15 per cent, the company said. Sales fell GBP 500 million to GBP 12.1 billion.
“We continued to build momentum in our growth markets and generated positive results from returns markets,” said Chief Executive Officer Alison Cooper. “This has been a good start to the year.”