Tobacco News

LEGISLATION to curb smoking by imposing a ban on tobacco displays in shops came a step closer yesterday after an appeal against the proposals by one of the world’s biggest tobacco companies was rejected by judges.

Imperial Tobacco went to court to challenge the provisions of the Tobacco and Primary Medical (Scotland) Act 2010 on the grounds that the matter was reserved to Westminster and outwith the legislative scope of Holyrood. Ream more »

Imperial Tobacco Group PLC, the world’s fourth-largest tobacco group by sales, Wednesday posted a fall in first-quarter revenue and volumes on tough comparisons, hit by a trade ban in Syria and de-stocking.

“Delivering the planned acceleration in our underlying sales momentum whilst continuing to realize cost and cash opportunities remain our priorities,” Chief Executive Alison Cooper said. The maker of Lambert & Butler, Gitanes Blondes and JPS cigarettes said tobacco revenue, excluding foreign exchange effects, fell 1% year-on-year in the three months to Dec. 31, while total volumes fell 7%. Ream more »

Imperial Tobacco Group PLC, the world’s fourth-largest tobacco company, has appointed Kevin Freudenthal as region director–Americas and president and CEO of Commonwealth–Altadis Inc. He will assume his new position on Jan. 30, 2012, succeeding Graham Bolt who has retired from the company.

Freudenthal brings a wealth of experience in the tobacco industry and a successful track record stretching back to 1986. Prior to joining Imperial Tobacco Group PLC, Freudenthal served as vice president for category management for Altria Group and had a long and distinguished sales and marketing career in executive positions at U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co. from 1986 to 2008 when the company was acquired.
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Imperial Tobacco has held firm as the number one business in Insider’s Top 500 – the annual ranking of South West companies based on turnover and profitability. With massive revenues of £28.2bn and a pre-tax profit of more than £2bn, the Bristol-headquartered tobacco giant was comfortably clear of second place: financial services company Nationwide.
Imperial Tobacco recently had its £112.3m fine for allegedly restricting competition quashed in December. It said it had reversed the Office of Fair Trading ruling adding that the company has “always rejected the Office of Fair Trading’s suggestion that (it) acted anti-competitively or in any way contrary to the interests of consumers”. Ream more »

Imperial Tobacco Group Plc (IMT), the maker of West and Davidoff cigarettes, forecast higher full-year sales, led by growth in eastern Europe and Asia.
Net revenue from tobacco will probably increase 2 percent excluding currency shifts in the 12 months through September, the Bristol, England-based company said today in a statement. That matched the median of three estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. Results will be “in line” with the company’s expectations, the Davidoff maker said. Ream more »

The Ontario government will have to wait for its share of a $350-million settlement reached in 2008 with Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd. after the cigarette maker admitted it had participated in smuggling tobacco into Canada across the U.S. border.

The Ontario Court of Appeal ruled this week that Imperial Tobacco can defer payments it owes to Ontario and instead put the money into an escrow account while an arbitrator decides on a dispute over the payments. Ream more »

It may have been No Smoking Day, but that did not stop Imperial Tobacco’s shares lighting up last night as a long-awaited report from the Government was greeted with relief.
Expectations were high that the Tobacco Control Plan – revealed yesterday – would introduce legislation forcing cigarettes to be sold in generic packaging. But ministers only ended up announcing a consultation on the issue, although a ban of tobacco products being displayed in shops will be introduced from April 2012. Ream more »

A growing number of super-rich Chinese puffing away on Imperial Tobacco’s luxury Cuban cigars helped the Montecristo maker deliver better than expected sales for the last three months of 2010.
The Bristol- based firm behind Lambert & Butler and Golden Virginia surprised the market with a return to Imperial sales growth following a difficult 12 months in which fewer smokers sparked up in Russia, Spain and the Ukraine.
Demand for value brands and sales of its products in emerging markets boosted cigarette volumes, up 0.5pc, and total stick volumes (cigarette and fine-cut tobacco), up 1.2pc.
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Anaqua, a leading provider of intellectual asset management software and services, and Imperial Tobacco Group, a leading international tobacco company, have entered into a multi-year agreement for use of the ANAQUA Enterprise IAM solution to manage the company’s global trademark portfolio.
Imperial Tobacco Group is one of the world’s leading brand owners with trademarks in more than 200 countries. Ream more »

A ban on tobacco displays in shops across Scotland is on hold because of an appeal by one of the world’s biggest cigarette manufacturers. Legal action by Imperial Tobacco will now prevent the Scottish Government from introducing the measure later this year, as had been planned.
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