Imperial Brands (LON:IMB) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results

Imperial Brands (LON:IMB) issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The company reported GBX 127.70 earnings per share for the quarter, Digital Look Earnings reports. The company had revenue of GBX 1,471.90 billion for the quarter. Imperial Brands had a net margin of 10.91% and a return on equity of 42.31%.

Here are the key takeaways from Imperial Brands’ conference call:

• The company said it is on track to meet full-year guidance, including low-single-digit tobacco net revenue growth, double-digit NGP net revenue growth, 3% to 5% adjusted operating profit growth, and at least high-single-digit EPS growth.
• First-half results showed solid cash generation, with GBP 2.6 billion of free cash flow over the last 12 months and operating cash conversion of 98%, supporting continued capital returns.
• Management highlighted that tobacco pricing more than offset volume declines, while NGP growth was temporarily held back by one-off U.S. promotional timing that they expect will not repeat in the second half.
• The company reiterated its shareholder returns strategy, including a 4% increase in the ordinary dividend and progress on the GBP 1.45 billion buyback, which management called an evergreen program.
• Strategic transformation is accelerating, with factory rationalization, the Capgemini partnership, and other efficiency actions expected to deliver about GBP 320 million of annual savings over time, while also building capabilities for longer-term growth.

Imperial Brands Stock Performance

Shares of IMB stock opened at GBX 2,787.09 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of GBX 2,997.08 and a 200-day moving average of GBX 3,099.97. The company has a market cap of £21.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 16.51 and a beta of 0.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 207.21. Imperial Brands has a 52 week low of GBX 2,648 and a 52 week high of GBX 3,341.

Insider Buying and Selling at Imperial Brands

In other news, insider Alan Johnson bought 645 shares of Imperial Brands stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of GBX 3,097 per share, for a total transaction of £19,975.65. Also, insider Lukas Paravicini sold 30,561 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 3,219, for a total value of £983,758.59. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on IMB. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a GBX 2,700 target price on shares of Imperial Brands in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Imperial Brands from GBX 3,650 to GBX 3,550 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a GBX 3,150 price objective on shares of Imperial Brands in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 3,500 target price on shares of Imperial Brands in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a GBX 3,700 target price on shares of Imperial Brands in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of GBX 3,466.67.

About Imperial Brands