Cigarette maker Imperial Brands expects first-half revenue drop on Russia exit

(Reuters) - Tobacco group Imperial Brands said on Thursday smokers have cut down their purchases of cigarettes after strong buying during the pandemic, prompting increased volume declines and a flat revenue outlook for the first half, excluding Russia.

During the pandemic, customers had given big tobacco firms such as Imperial a boost as they had more cash to spend and more chances to smoke.

As expected, Imperial Brands said its exit from Russia would result in revenue for the six months that ended March 31 to be "slightly below" from a year earlier.

The maker of Winston cigarettes and Backwoods cigars said it was on track to meet its annual expectations and its outlook of growing revenue and operating profit, despite the lacklustre first half.

Adjusted operating profit for the first six months was also hit by increased investments in next-generation products, along with the exit from Russia and lower volumes, it said.

The company, which transferred its Russian business to local investors last year, said excluding the impact of its Russian business, net revenue was expected to be flat on a constant currency basis.

Imperial Brands shares were down 1.5% in early trade.

(This story has been corrected to change headline to say revenue drop, not profit drop)

(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Eileen Soreng)