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Investing.com -- Imperial Brands PLC (LON:IMB) saw its shares slide more than 7% Wednesday after reporting results for the first half (H1) of its fiscal year and announcing that CEO Stefan Bomhard will step down after five years in the role.
For the six months ended March 31, the U.K.-listed tobacco company reported pretax profit of £1.30 billion ($1.73 billion), up from £1.14 billion in the same period last year.
However, adjusted operating profit slipped 1% to £1.65 billion, narrowly missing the company-compiled consensus of £1.67 billion.
Revenue declined to £14.60 billion from £15.06 billion, while operating profit fell 2.5% to £1.46 billion.
Imperial said stronger pricing helped offset a drop in tobacco volumes. Sales of next-generation products rose 15.4% during the period.
The company maintained its full-year guidance, including low-single-digit revenue growth in tobacco, a double-digit increase in next-generation product sales, and adjusted operating profit growth in the mid-single-digit range.
The board declared an interim dividend of 80.16 pence per share, a significant increase from 44.90 pence a year earlier.
Commenting on the print, Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) analysts said the results are "broadly in line."
"Overall, we see today’s print as reassuring, and it reaffirms the defensiveness and resilience of IMB," they wrote.
With Bomhard set to depart, Imperial Brands (OTC:IMBBY) has named current CFO Lukas Paravicini as its next CEO. He will officially step into the role on October 1, taking over leadership of the group’s core tobacco operations and its growing smoke-free business, which includes e-cigarettes. The company is aiming for up to 5% annual profit growth through 2030.
Outgoing CEO Stefan Bomhard will remain on the board until the end of the year and will continue to support the leadership transition until May 2026, the company said.
"Lukas, who has been CFO since May 2021, has been instrumental in driving Imperial Brands’ consistent growth over the past four years and leads the long-term programme to transform the company’s tech and data capabilities," Imperial Brands said in the release.
Murray McGowan, currently Chief Strategy and Development Officer, will succeed Paravicini as CFO.