Imperial Brands transferring its Russia arm

Imperial Brands Plc has transferred its business in Russia to local investors and will write off the value of the tobacco assets in the country, Report informs referring to Bloomberg.

The maker of Gauloises cigarettes said the operations include a sales and marketing business and a factory in Volgograd, in a statement on April 20. Imperial has about 1,000 employees in Russia and will take a 225 million-pound ($294 million) write-off following the transfer.

Imperial joins a slew of other Western businesses seeking to exit Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Shares in Imperial were little changed at the close in London on April 20.

The company said the transfer would not change its previous financial guidance. Imperial did not name the Russian investors and said the transaction is in the final stages of being registered with local authorities.

Imperial’s Russia and Ukraine operations represented about 2% of net revenue and 0.5% of adjusted operating profit in 2021, the company said.

The company will report full first-half results on May 17. Imperial is in the middle of a five-year turnaround plan, and 2022 has been slated as another year of reorganization and investment in tobacco and smoking alternatives.