Tobacco group Imperial Brands increases revenue despite sales volume fall

LONDON (Reuters) - British tobacco company Imperial Brands posted a rise in first-quarter revenue despite volume declines, particularly in Iraq and Syria, helped by price increases in several markets. The maker of Davidoff and Gauloises cigarettes, which recently changed its corporate name from Imperial Tobacco, said it remains on track to meet its full-year outlook. Underlying tobacco net revenue rose 16.6 percent in the three months to Dec. 31, in line with its expectations, helped by last year's acquisition of U.S. brands including Winston, Kool and blu e-cigarettes. Organic net revenue, excluding the impact of acquisitions, rose 2 percent even as tobacco volume fell 3 percent. The company said results will benefit from a full year's contribution from the U.S. brands and that the headwinds from Iraq and Syria will lessen as it approaches the half-year. (Reporting by Martinne Geller in London; Editing by David Goodman)