Shares in Imperial Brands (IMB) have gained nearly 30% over the past six months due to a combination of investors piling into defensive stocks amid bouts of global market volatility and a strong five-year strategic plan.

The multi-national tobacco company shares recently hit a 52-week high at £27.42 (on 3 February).

Analysts at Panmure Liberum are upbeat about Imperial’s share price saying: ‘The company can and will do more as the CFO’s purchasing power is undimmed: those factors driving 2024’s share price performance are no less true now.’

The FTSE 100 company which owns several tobacco brands including Davidoff, West, Golden Virginia and JPS delivered a robust set of full-year results last November buoyed by NGPs (next generation products).

The company reported a 4.6% increase in net revenue, a 4.5% rise in operating profit to £3.5 billion and a 26% rise in NGP net revenue to £335 million with growth from all regions and improved gross margins.

Imperial’s CEO Stefan Bomhard said at the time that it was ‘on track to deliver five-year capital returns of circa £10 billion, representing 67% of our market capitalisation in January 2021 when we launched our strategy’. 

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