Imperial Brands PLC (LON:IMB) has kept its guidance for the year unchanged even though the tobacco group posted strong first-half numbers.
Reported revenues for the half-year to end-March 2021 improved 6.1% to £15.5bn, with a 3.5% rise on an adjusted basis.
Pre-tax profits were £2.06bn (£785mln), though on an underlying basis improved by 8.6% to £1.58bn.
The John Player and Gauloises group said price rises of 6.5% in its cigarette business helped offset further volume declines of 3.3%.
New products (NGP) – such as vaping and heated tobacco - also started to recover with revenues up by 16%.
Stefan Bomhard, new chief executive, said that tobacco market share was stabilising in its top five priority markets while the NGP performance had improved against a weak comparator period.
Market trials in vapour and heated tobacco are scheduled for later this year, he added.
The interim dividend rises by 1% to 42.12p.