Imperial Brands Unveils Fresh GBP1.5 Billion Share Buyback, Reaffirms Fiscal 2026 Outlook

05:53 AM EDT, 10/08/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Imperial Brands (IMB.L) shares were up nearly 3% in London on late Thursday morning trade as the company unveiled a new share repurchase program, citing expectations of higher net revenue in tobacco and next-generation products for fiscal 2026. The UK-based tobacco group's new buyback program of 1.5 billion pounds sterling for the next fiscal year is set to run until Oct. 29, 2027. Imperial launched the first tranche of up to 750 million pounds on Thursday, anticipating it to end by May 4, 2027. HSBC Bank plc will carry out the first tranche of the buyback under an irrevocable and non-discretionary arrangement, with all repurchased shares to be canceled. "We remain committed to returning surplus capital to shareholders via our ongoing 'evergreen' share buyback programme, which represents an ongoing source of shareholder returns, alongside our progressive dividend policy," Imperial said in a separate pre-close trading update. "Over the past six years from FY21 to FY26, we have delivered close to c.GBP13 billion of cumulative capital returns to shareholders through dividends and share buyback combined. We have reduced our issued share capital by over 21% since the buyback programme commenced in October 2022." Imperial Brands added that it remains on track to deliver its financial targets for fiscal 2026. Group adjusted operating profit growth is still expected to be within the company's 3% to 5% guidance range, while adjusted EPS is projected to see high-single-digit growth. The group anticipates net revenue from tobacco products to show low-single-digit growth, marking the sixth straight year of increase in tobacco net revenue. Meanwhile, net revenue growth from next-generation products is forecast to be in the double digits, supported by market share gains in all three categories and robust momentum in heated tobacco products.