UNITED KINGDOM
Imperial Tobacco seeks acquisitions

Britain's Imperial Tobacco, the world's fourth-biggest cigarette firm, said it was seeking acquisitions but there was not much on the horizon as it posted an expected 9-per cent rise in annual earnings on Tuesday.

The UK-based group, which makes Britain's two top-selling cigarette brands, Lambert & Butler and Richmond, and also West and Davidoff in Germany, said it still saw further consolidation between the world's six major tobacco players.
"We would prefer to do acquisitions, our shareholders are keen, but in the absence of major deals we will continue our share buybacks. We keep looking, but there is not much on the radar at the moment," chief executive Gareth Davis told a conference call after annual results.
Imperial has been linked sporadically with a bid for Franco-Spanish group Altadis over the last 22 months, but he made no comment on the maker of Gauloises and Fortuna cigarettes which has just completed a strategic review. But Davis did say there are six major international tobacco companies and he did not see six remaining over time. Altadis ranks as number six just behind Gallaher Group.
Imperial, which makes nearly 60 per cent of its profits from its two core markets of the UK and Germany, posted adjusted earnings of 122.2 pence a share for the year to end-Sept in line with forecasts of 120.9 to 123.8 p and a consensus of 122.0 p. The group increased its global cigarette volumes by 7 per cent in the year and gained market shares across all its regions, including the UK and Germany. (pi)

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