Imperial Tobacco Group Plc (IMT), Europe’s second-biggest tobacco company, plans to introduce an alternative nicotine product next year in an effort to catch up with competitors such as British American Tobacco Plc. (BATS)
Imperial is “on track to launch our own products in 2014” through the Fontem Ventures unit, the Bristol, England-based company said today in a statement as it reported a 1 percent drop in underlying revenue in the nine months ended June 30.
“This is the first time Imperial has confirmed that it plans to launch something in that space next year,” said Erik Bloomquist, a tobacco analyst at Berenberg Bank in London. “It’s an important step forward for the company.”
Imperial has been trailing the likes of BAT and Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) in developing alternative nicotine products and electronic cigarettes in response to stricter government constraints on smoking.
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