TRADING STATEMENTS > TUESDAY 19 AUGUST > THIRD QUARTER - Imperial tobacco (IMT) £24.95

A nine month and third quarter trading statement (19 Aug) from cigarette titan Imperial Tobacco (IMT) will be closely watched on a number of fronts. Investors will be seeking reassurance that 'Growth Brands' including Gauloises Blondes, JPS, Davidoff and Lambert & Butler continue to outperform. Eyes will also be focused on the impact of currency, as well as developments in troubled growth markets including Iraq and Russia, as well as the Bristol-headquartered group's performances in the UK and Spain, key markets where volumes are in decline.

Imperial is also likely to update on progress with its transformational £4.2 billion acquisition (15 Jul) of Reynolds American’s (RAI:NYSE) US cigarette brands Winston, Maverick, Kool, Salem and e-cigarette label blu, as well as sales and production assets from Lorillard (LO:NYSE). Imperial positively surprised analysts with its acquisition of blu, Lorillard's leading e-cigarette business in both the US and Europe, for which chief executive officer Alison Cooper has ambitious international roll-out plans. (JC)