23 February - Preliminary announcement for the year ended 31 December 2011

•  The Group’s organic revenue at constant rates of exchange grew by 7 per cent with continued good pricing momentum. Reported Group revenue was up 3 per cent.


•  Adjusted Group profit from operations increased by 11 per cent. All the regions contributed to this good profit result. The reported profit from operations was 9 per cent higher at £4,721 million. The adjusting items are set out on page 11 and detailed on pages 22 to 23.


•  Group volumes were 705 billion, down 0.4 per cent as the overall market share of the Group increased and industry volume decline moderated.


•  The four Global Drive Brands achieved excellent volume growth of 9 per cent. Dunhill volumes were slightly higher, Kent was up 10 per cent, Lucky Strike 14 per cent and Pall Mall grew by 11 per cent.


•  Adjusted diluted earnings per share rose by 11 per cent, principally as a result of the growth in profit from operations. Basic earnings per share were up 8 per cent at 157.1p (2010: 145.2p).


•  The Board is recommending a final dividend of 88.4p, payable on 3 May 2012. The total dividend in respect of 2011 is 126.5p, an increase of 11 per cent.


•  Free cash flow increased by 3 per cent to £3,326 million, 86 per cent of adjusted earnings.


•  28 million shares were bought back at a cost of £750 million, excluding transaction costs. A continuation of the share buy-back to a value of £1.25 billion has been agreed by the Board.


•  The Chairman, Richard Burrows, commented “2011 has been a very successful year for your Company and we carry momentum in market share growth and margin improvement into 2012. The economic climate around the world is far from settled but we remain confident that our strategy should continue to generate growth for our shareholders in the years ahead.”
   

Preliminary results for year ended 31 December 2011 - full announcement (374 kb)