Leading cigarette maker announces rise in sales and a "good start to the year"

Imperial Tobacco, the world's fourth-biggest cigarette maker, posted a 5% rise in quarterly sales and said it was trading in line with its forecasts after a good start to the year.

Imperial, with cigarette brands including Lambert & Butler, West and Gauloises, was reporting on its first-quarter trading from October to December 2010 on Wednesday within its current financial year to end-September 2011.

The group said its cigarette volumes rose 0.5% in the quarter and when adding in fine-cut loose tobacco, then stick equivalent volumes rose 1.2%.

"We made a good start to the year with underlying tobacco revenues up 5%," Chief Executive Alison Cooper said in a statement ahead of the company's annual shareholder meeting later on Wednesday.