Imperial Brands sees sharp rise in vape and ‘next-gen’ sales

Tobacco firm Imperial Brands (LSE:IMP) reported financial results in line with expectations, with revenue coming in at just over £15 billion for its first half.

It reported an underlying profit of £1.67 billion in the six months to 31 March, down 2.7% compared this this time last year.

Notably, vapes - or as the industry prefer to call them “next-generation products” – saw a near 17% improvement in sales with growth coming in the Europe, Africa and Asia-Pacific territories.

"In Next Generation Products (NGP), we are steadily building scale within our footprint and these efforts have resulted in net revenue growth of 16.8% on a constant currency basis,” chief executive Stefan Bomhard said in a statement.

“In the past six months, we have launched new products in all categories, including our entry into the US oral nicotine market with the new 'zone' brand.”