On Track to Deliver FY19
· Net revenue up +2.5% driven by strong NGP growth and a good underlying tobacco performance
· Tobacco benefiting from strong price/mix while volumes temporarily affected by shipment timings
· NGP revenues of £148m (£158m pre IFRS 15) up +245% with growth in Europe, the US and Japan
· Quality growth from Asset Brands with net revenue up 7.0%; +280bps as percentage of net revenue
· Good growth in tobacco profitability driven by the Americas and Europe
· Adjusted operating profit reflects additional £94m gross NGP investment & £40m profit on OTP disposal last year
· Reported operating profit up 38.1% with lower amortisation, the prior year impact of distributor administration, lower restructuring costs and an increase in the contingent consideration liability for the Von Erl acquisition
· On track to deliver growth in revenue, adjusted EPS and cash conversion in line with full year expectations
· Divestment programme on track
And later;
Dividends
We have declared an interim dividend of 62.56 pence per share, an increase of 10 per cent. This dividend will be paid in two payments of 31.28 pence per share on 28 June 2019 and 30 September 2019, with an ex-dividend date of 23 May and 22 August respectively.
The third interim and final dividends will be announced with our full year results in November 2019 and paid in December 2019 and March 2020 respectively, subject to AGM approval. We expect to deliver another year of 10 per cent dividend growth.
https://www.investegate.co.uk/imperial- ... 00023370Y/