Imperial Tobacco shipments of growth brands that include JPS and Davidoff increased in the six months to 31 March, however overall cigarette volume was down sharply, said parent company Imperial Brands.

Overall stick equivalent (including RYO) volume fell 5.7 per cent to 126.3 billion sticks. Growth brands, representing 73 billion stick equivalents, rose 3.2 per cent as the group of products gained market share, Imperial said. Operating profit fell 10 per cent to GBP 902 million (EUR 1.1 billion) as “considerable” investment reduced earnings, the company said. Sales rose 11.7 per cent to GBP 14.3 billion.