IMPERIAL TOBACCO said yesterday its cigarette volumes fell seven per cent in the final quarter of 2011 after sales were hit by a tough Spanish market, Syrian sanctions and destocking in Ukraine and the US.
The world’s fourth-biggest cigarette maker, whose brands include Davidoff and Gauloises, said sales were down by one per cent in the period but rose three per cent when stripping out the impact of those four markets.
The Bristol-based group, which sells over 340bn cigarettes annually, has suffered in Spain from a bruising price war, a ban on smoking in public places and rising unemployment.
A ceasefire was called late last year but Imperial’s third most-profitable market after Britain and Germany is still struggling from a decline of around 15 per cent per year as the Spanish economy looks to be heading for recession.
Sales have also been hurt by United Nations sanctions on Syria.
