Imperial performs well in UK
Imperial Tobacco Group on Friday said its current year trading remained in line with its own expectations and added it had performed strongly in the UK driven by improved cigarette market share.
The world's fourth-biggest cigarette firm, said it had increased its market share in Germany although the overall market there declined and consumers traded down to cheaper cigarettes.
Imperial Tobacco makes Britain's two top-selling brands, Lambert & Butler and Richmond, together with West and Davidoff in Germany.
The company was making a trading statement towards the end of its financial year on September 30, and ahead of its full-year results on October 31.
"We have performed strongly in the UK, driven by improved cigarette market share and pricing benefits. This performance was further enhanced by good cigarette market volumes over the summer," the group said in the statement.
In the UK, which earns 38 percent of group profits, Imperial last gave its cigarette market share at 45.2 percent for its first half to end-March 2006, ahead of its rival Benson and Hedges maker Gallaher Group Plc at 38.2 percent.
In the rest of Western Europe, outside its core market of the UK and Germany, the group said it continued to increase its cigarette market shares in many countries despite difficult trading conditions and declining travel retail volumes.
Meanwhile, in its rest of the world region, the group said it benefited from volume and margin rises in many markets.
Imperial shares added 0.7 percent to 18.26 pounds by 12:25 p.m. They have outperformed Gallaher by 3 percent so far this year and the FTSE 100 <.FTSE> index by around 1 percent.
