By Scott Kanowsky
Investing.com -- Annual income at Imperial Brands PLC (LON:IMB) dropped by nearly a sixth, as the U.K. tobacco group was hit by its decision to exit its operations in Russia.
In the year ended on September 30, reported operating profit slumped by 14.7% to £2.68 million (£1 = $1.1938), weighed down by a £399M charge from the disposal of its Russian assets to a local group of third-party investors in April.
Imperial Brands' departure from Russia came amid an exodus of other Western companies from the country in response to the outbreak of the war in Ukraine earlier this year.
The firm, whose brands include Davidoff and West cigarettes, employed 1,000 people in Russia and had a factory in the city of Volgograd.
The decision particularly impacted sales at Imperial Brands' Africa, Asia and Australasia division, with revenues sliding by 0.6% to just over £1.49 billion. Excluding Russia, volumes at the unit jumped by 3.2%.
Shares in Imperial Brands edged slightly lower on Tuesday. Analysts at Citigroup said there were unlikely to be "major" surprises in the earnings, given the company's announcement last month that it would launch a share buyback program and report full-year results in line with prior guidance.