Prioritizing investment

Imperial Brands will drop its 10 percent dividend growth target from next year to focus on developing its e-cigarette portfolio, reports Reuters.

The company plans to buy back shares worth up to £200 million ($251 million).

Imperial’s full-year revenue growth target is at risk as Juul Labs has taken nearly half of the U.S. vapor market in the past three years.

“This is something investors have been asking for—to abandon a restrictive dividend policy,” said Alicia Forry, an analyst at Investec.

Imperial Brand’s stock rose 2.7 percent after the announcement. Shares in the company have lost half their value since their peak in 2016 and are trading near an eight-year low.

Imperial said the new dividend policy would allow investment in both organic growth and M&A opportunities in tobacco and vapor products and would help it reduce debt.