Imperial chairman buys after results

12th May 2009 17:00

Imperial Tobacco's chairman Iain Napier has lifted his stake in the firm following its first quarter results, spending more than £35,000 on shares.He took 2,257 at about 1,560p a time and now has 12,538.Imperial saw underlying earnings rise for the half-year but shares were hit because of concerns about full year dividend.The maker of Lambert & Butler cigarettes said that its dividend payout ratio was still at 50% but it will take into consideration costs associated with the restructuring of its recent acquisition Altadis."Our policy of progressive dividends based on underlying earnings growth is unchanged with a payout of around 50%, whilst recognising the cash impact of the Altadis restructuring," said the group.The group announced an interim dividend of 21p, up 0.1p from last year, in line with its policy of paying out a third of previous year's full dividend.Stripping out costs, underlying profits rose by 47% to £998m. But overall Imperial did fall into a loss of £184m, compared with a profit of £326m before, driven by fair value losses of £937m on derivatives and amortisation of intangibles of £224m.Revenues for the half-year to March year rose from £8bn to £12.4bn, reflecting the inclusion of Altadis.Napier, a former chairman of the brewer Bass, was appointed chairman of Imperial in 2007.Top Director BuysBanco Santander SA (BNC) Director name: Mr Francisco Luzon LopezAmount purchased: 27,590 @ 649.35p Value: £179,156Banco Santander SA (BNC) Director name: Mr Francisco Luzon LopezAmount purchased: 13,985 @ 640.39p Value: £89,559Bulgarian Land Development (BLD) Director name: Mr Christo IlievAmount purchased: 375,000 @ 26.00p Value: £97,500Polo Resources (PRL) Director name: Mr Guy ElliottAmount purchased: 2,000,000 @ 3.80p Value: £76,000Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) Director name: Mr Iain NapierAmount purchased: 2,257 @ 1,559.80p Value: £35,205JPMorgan Income & Growth Inv Trust Income Shares (JIGI) Director name: Mr Alan ColeAmount purchased: 50,070 @ 59.00p Value: £29,541NWF Group (NWF) Director name: Mr Johnathan Richard FordAmount purchased: 20,000 @ 107.50p Value: £21,500Charles Taylor (CTR) Director name: Mr John Stephen MatthewsAmount purchased: 8,000 @ 183.10p Value: £14,648Top Director SellsStandard Chartered (STAN) Director name: Mr Peter A SandsAmount sold: 71,686 @ 1,224.00p Value: £877,437Whitbread (WTB) Director name: Mr Alan C ParkerAmount sold: 100,000 @ 867.20p Value: £867,200Shire Plc (SHP) Director name: Mr Matthew EmmensAmount sold: 32,858 @ 856.20p Value: £281,330Shire Plc (SHP) Director name: Mr Angus RussellAmount sold: 23,208 @ 856.20p Value: £198,707Standard Chartered (STAN) Director name: Mr Gareth BullockAmount sold: 16,226 @ 1,224.00p Value: £198,606Standard Chartered (STAN) Director name: Mr Richard H MeddingsAmount sold: 8,203 @ 1,224.00p Value: £100,405JD Wetherspoon (JDW) Director name: Mr John HutsonAmount sold: 3,174 @ 421.30p Value: £13,372