Imperial Tobacco moves higher after hiking Spanish cigarette prices

Imperial Tobacco shares were hit last month as it laid out the full cost of a cigarette price war in Spain.

The company revealed a £110m hit to profits as it followed rival Philip Morris, and cut prices after a ban on smoking in public places. But today its shares have risen 26p to £21.43 after it lifted Spanish prices again across the board to pre-price war levels, the first company to do so. Across its key brands, Imperial has increased prices of Fortuna and Nobel to €3.80 from €3.50 and Ducados, West and JPS to €3.50 from €3.30 (€0.10 less on soft packs across all brands).