Imperial Brands guidance and new strategic plan in focus

  • Tobacco giant Imperial Brands PLC (LSE:IMB) will report its first-half results on Wednesday 14 May with its shares at their highest in over seven years, just as its five-year strategic plan comes to an end. The FTSE 100 company, maker of JPS, Davidoff, Gauloises and Winston cigarettes, Blu vapes and Pulze heat-not-burn technology, is set to launch a new plan running to 2030, with CEO Stefan Bomhard telling analysts recently he will be targeting high single-digit annual earnings growth and between £2 billion and £3 billion in annual free cash flow to support rising dividends and share buybacks.