Imperial Brands has told the market it is on track to hit full-year FY26 guidance on every metric — and its pre-close trading update, published on 8 October 2026, is the first set of company numbers to include the Helwit acquisition it closed in September.

The headline for the nicotine pouch side of the business: Imperial expects double-digit NGP net revenue growth at constant currency, with share gains in all three of its NGP categories. In modern oral — the category that covers nicotine pouches — the company says its "existing portfolio of growing brands, including Zone and Skruf, has been enhanced by the acquisitions of Black Buffalo in the US and Helwit in Sweden."

What the update actually says

The full-year picture Imperial is guiding to:

• Sixth consecutive year of tobacco net revenue growth, with low-single-digit tobacco revenue growth driven by pricing
• Double-digit NGP net revenue growth with share gains across all three NGP categories
• Group adjusted operating profit growth within the 3%–5% guidance range
• High-single-digit adjusted EPS growth and more than £2.2 billion of free cash flow
• A new £1.5 billion share buyback for FY27, on top of the completed £1.45 billion FY26 repurchase
• Confirmed savings target of at least £320 million by 2030

Full annual results are due on 17 November 2026.

Why it matters

Imperial now owns two of the most interesting mid-size pouch assets in the market: Helwit, one of Sweden's best-known newer pouch brands, and Black Buffalo in the US. Today's update is the first signal of how the company is weighting those assets — both get named, alongside Zone and Skruf, as the brands driving its modern oral portfolio.

The caveat is that Imperial reports NGP as one combined line covering heated tobacco (Pulze/iD), vape (blu) and modern oral. It did not publish pouch-specific revenue or volume figures in this pre-close update, so the "double-digit growth" number cannot be attributed solely to pouches. Growth rates are at constant currency, and the update is unaudited pre-close guidance ahead of the 17 November results.

Still, the direction is clear: a Big Tobacco company that spent most of the last decade watching Swedish Match and BAT take the modern oral space is now positioning its newly assembled pouch portfolio as a growth driver — and backing itself with another £1.5 billion of buybacks.

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SOURCES:

• Imperial Brands PLC, "Pre-close trading update FY26", RNS 0678Y, 8 October 2026 — full announcement text via Reuters RNS feed
• All figures and quotes from the RNS announcement; growth rates are constant currency per Imperial's note