Six months ended 31 March 2023 | Reported | Adjusted2 | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2023 | 2022 | Change | 2023 | 2022 | Actual | Constant currency3 |
CC ex Russia4 | ||
Revenue/Net revenue1 | £m | 15,411 | 15,362 | -0.3% | 3,663 | 3,495 | +4.8% | -1.0% | +0.6% |
Operating profit | £m | 1,534 | 1,201 | 27.7% | 1,716 | 1,600 | +7.3% | +0.8% | +1.2% |
Basic earnings per share | pence | 117.0 | 105.2 | 11.2% | 118.5 | 113.0 | +4.9% | -1.7% | -1.2% |
Net debt | £m | (10,239) | (9,757) | (9,799) | (9,157) | - | - | - | |
Dividend per share | pence | 43.18 | 42.54 | 1.5% | 43.18 | 42.54 | +1.5% | 1.5% | - |
1 Reported revenue includes duty, similar items, Distribution (Logista) and sale of peripheral products, which are excluded from net revenue; net revenue comprises reported revenue less duty and similar items, excluding sale of peripheral products and Distribution (Logista) gross profit.
2 See page 3 for the basis of presentation and the supplementary section at the end of the financial statements for the reconciliation between reported and adjusted measures.
3 Constant currency removes effect of exchange rate movements on the translation of the results of our overseas operations.
4 Constant currency movement excluding the prior year financial contribution from Russia, following our exit in April 2022.
“We are now in the third year of our five-year strategy, and this means we are moving from the initial foundationbuilding phase to a period of improving financial delivery. We remain strongly committed to an ongoing programme of shareholder returns and will complete our initial £1 billion buyback during the second half.
“Business performance for the first half of fiscal year 2023 was resilient, despite temporarily increased volume declines against a strong comparator. As expected, this reflects a return to pre-COVID buying patterns as well as our decision to exit Russia last year. In tobacco, we have delivered further share gains in aggregate across our portfolio of top five markets, while also achieving strong pricing to help mitigate the volume declines. We have now recorded stable or growing aggregate market share in these markets in each of the last four six-month periods after many years of sharp declines. In NGP, we have delivered a step-up in innovation with new product and market launches in all three categories: vapour, heated tobacco and modern oral.
“This performance is underpinned by targeted investments in capabilities and people. Earlier this month we opened a new innovation facility in Liverpool, which brings together consumers, product developers and third-party partners in a single collaborative space. We are making good progress in our programmes to modernise legacy systems, and we continue to invest in upskilling our leaders to drive forward our performance culture.
“We remain on track to deliver the acceleration in adjusted operating profit growth in the second half in line with our guidance and expectations. I am confident the actions we have taken are creating a stronger, more resilient business capable of driving shareholder returns through a growing dividend and an ongoing share buyback.”
Delivering strong pricing across our portfolio of five priority combustible markets
Accelerating our NGP performance with disciplined execution
Driving value from our broader market portfolio
Transforming our ways of working
Tobacco & NGP net revenue growth driven by resilient tobacco pricing
Delivering improved profitability and increased investment
Free cash flow supporting investment and shareholder returns
* All measures at constant currency unless otherwise stated
We remain firmly on track with our five-year strategic plan to transform Imperial and are on course to deliver against the guidance and expectations for the current year.
We continue to expect low single-digit constant currency tobacco and NGP net revenue growth with constant currency adjusted operating profit growth accelerating to deliver mid-single digit CAGR over the next three years.
As previously guided, for the current year – inclusive of the impact of our Russian exit – we expect to grow our adjusted Group operating profit at the lower end of our mid-single digit range at constant currency. This improvement in adjusted operating profit growth in the second half will be driven by the strong embedded pricing as a result of actions taken in the first half, the improving geographic mix driven by our priority market focus, operational gearing, cost savings and growth at Logista. These tailwinds will be partially offset by continued cost inflation and increased NGP investment. We expect the year-on-year effect of consumer buying patterns to normalise in the second half as we annualise the prior year COVID-related impact.
We expect our year end gearing to be around the lower end of our adjusted net debt to EBITDA range of 2.0-2.5 times.
Our full year adjusted effective tax rate is expected to be around 22-23%. At current rates, foreign exchange translation is expected to be a 3-4% tailwind to full year net revenue, adjusted operating profit and earnings per share.
We remain confident in our ability to navigate current macro-economic challenges and we are well placed to generate long-term value for shareholders and all our stakeholders.
Investor Contacts | Media Contacts | ||
Peter Durman | +44 (0)7970 328 903 | Jonathan Oliver | +44 (0)7740 096 018 |
Jennifer Ramsey | +44 (0)7974 615 739 | Simon Evans | +44 (0)7967 467 684 |
Henry Dodd | +44 (0)7941 648 421 |