煙草在線據路透社報道編譯　　帝國煙草集團表示，由于其在中東和亞洲市場上保持增長，第一季度基本煙草凈營收增長1%，與預期吻合。

　　大衛杜夫和高盧絲卷煙的制造商和市場份額為世界第4大的國際煙草公司帝國煙草，公布第一季度煙草凈營收為15.6億英鎊(合26億美元)。

　　這家英國集團表示，今年有望實現在固定匯率下其每股收益溫和增長和股息至少增長10%的預期。

　　帝國煙草和其競爭對手，如菲莫國際和英美煙草，也面臨著許多市場上由于政府監管不斷增加、消費者更重視健康，以及經濟疲軟和走私的問題，而導致銷售下降的情況。

　　帝國煙草稱，在成熟市場上其業績有“彈性”，由于澳大利亞和德國的強勁業績被英國和波蘭行業的部分下滑所抵消，煙草凈營收增長了1%。

　　帝國煙草聚焦于十大增長品牌，包括威斯和JPS，并聚焦于其市場份額通常不到15%的市場上，以及美國、中東和亞洲的國家中的增長機會。

　　它說，其頂級品牌銷量的增長不足2%，占其總銷量的43%，比一年前增長了3%，占到其凈煙草收入的39%。

　　該集團的股價在過去12個月里下降了3.6%，在2月13日格林威治標準時間08：04交易時上漲0.3%，漲至2229便士。

　　該煙草集團發現了在歐洲和美國流行的電子煙的機會。

　　該公司去年曾表示，推出電子煙和削減成本，將有助于其在始于10月1日的2014財政年度中實現收益“適度”增長，即增長低于2013財年的6%。它還說，預計削減成本將使2014年節約6000萬英鎊。

Imperial Tobacco Says First-quarter Result Keeps It on Track

　　Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT.L) said underlying tobacco net revenue rose 1 percent in the first quarter, in line with its expectations, as it maintained momentum in growth markets in the Middle East and Asia.

　　Imperial, maker of Davidoff and Gauloises cigarettes and the world's No 4 international tobacco company by market share, posted first-quarter tobacco net revenue of 1.56 billion pounds ($2.6 billion).

　　The British group said it was on track to meet its outlook for the year of modest growth in earnings per share at constant exchange rates and for at least a 10 percent increase in dividends.

　　Imperial and its rivals such as Philip Morris International (PM.N) and British American Tobacco PLC (BATS.L) are grappling with declining sales in a number of markets due to increasing government regulation and more health-conscious consumers, as well as economic weakness and smuggling.

　　Imperial said it had a "resilient" performance in mature markets, with tobacco net revenue up 1 percent as strong results in Australia and Germany were in part offset by industry declines in Britain and Poland.

　　Imperial is focusing on 10 top growth brands, which include West and JPS, and on markets where it has typically less than 15 percent share and opportunities to grow, such as the United States and countries in the Middle East and Asia.

　　Its top brands grew volumes by an underlying 2 percent, it said, accounting for 43 percent of its total volume, up 3 points on a year ago, and 39 percent of its net tobacco revenue.

　　Shares in the group, which have fallen 3.6 percent in the last 12 months, were trading up 0.3 percent at 2,229 pence at 0804 GMT.

　　Tobacco groups have spotted an opportunity in electronic cigarettes, which are gaining in popularity in Europe and the United States.

　　The company had said late last year that the launch of e-cigarettes and cost cuts would help it deliver "modest" earnings growth in fiscal 2014, which began on October 1, or growth below the 6 percent it saw in fiscal 2013. It had also said that cost cuts were expected to yield savings of around 60 million pounds in 2014. Enditem