TOBACCO giant Imperial Brands announced "important progress and significant change" with full year results yesterday.

For the year to 30 September 2021, the company reported turnover of £32.79bn compared to £32.56bn the prior period.

Pre-tax profits were also up from £2.16bn to £3.2bn.

The report highlighted a particularly strong performance in Africa, with net revenue up eight per cent.

The results coincide with the group implementing a new five-year strategy, which it is on track to complete.

Chief executive Stefan Bomhard said: "We have substantially refreshed our leadership team, making new hires to strengthen our consumer-facing capabilities, while building on our existing deep tobacco experience." Bomhard himself joined Imperial Brands in 2020 from Bacardi.

The five-year plan for the group is to divide Imperial into two distinct periods. The year ahead will complete the twoyear "strengthening phase", with further investment into five priority markets and Next Generation Products (NGP) pilots. NGPs include products such as vapour, oral nicotine and heated tobacco, which aim to cause less harm to its users.

The focus for the next three years will then be to focus on "the acceleration of returns and sustainable growth in shareholder value", according to Bomhard.

Analysts at JP Morgan are relatively confident in Bomhard's direction, and said his recent and external leadership "provides free optionality should he show competency and his new perspective can begin to re-build investor confidence". Analysts therefore set a price target of 2100p, with an end date of June 2023.

This confidence is echoed by Rae Maile, analyst at investment bank Panmure Gordon, who rated it as a "buy" stock. He said: "Much has changed at the business and all for the better. The issue with Imperial was never the industry, it was gross mismanagement. That is being dealt with, but the rating reflects the past and not the potential."

Despite optimism, shares were down nearly two per cent at the close yesterday at 1569p.

(c) 2021 City A.M., source Newspaper