Tobacco giant Imperial Brands has confirmed it is withdrawing from Russia amid the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
The Winston and Davidoff cigarette maker employs 1,000 staff in Russia in its sales and marketing operations, and factory in Volgograd.
The business, which is headquartered in Bristol, said it had begun negotiations with a local third party about the transfer of its Russian assets and operations.
"We believe that, in the current circumstances, an orderly transfer of our business as a going concern would be in the best interests of our Russian colleagues," the company said in a statement on Tuesday (March 15).
Imperial will continue to pay its staff in Russia until any transfer is complete - and said the safety and wellbeing of its employees in the country was a "key priority".
The business said it was also supporting its Ukrainian staff and their families, including with transport and accommodation, to help them to escape the areas most severely hit by conflict, as well as resettlement assistance for those who have left Ukraine.
The company's exit from Russia and its suspension of operations in Ukraine is expected to impact full-year results for 2022.
According to the firm, it expects full-year constant currency net revenue growth of around 0-1%.
The company added: "While there will be some ongoing costs related to the suspension in Ukraine, we expect a relatively small impact on our constant currency adjusted operating profit, reflecting the limited profit contribution of the two markets."
In the financial year ending 2021, Russia and Ukraine represented in total around 2% of Imperial Brands' net revenues and 0.5% of adjusted operating profit.
Any transaction relating to Imperial Brands' Russian business is subject to agreement being reached, the firm added.
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