Imperial Tobacco says trading remains in line

LONDON (Reuters) - Imperial Tobacco (IMT.L), the world's fourth-biggest cigarette company, said on Thursday its overall performance had remained in line with its expectations and that it was on track for another successful year.

The maker of Lambert & Butler cigarettes said the integration of Altadis, the Franco-Spanish rival it acquired for 12.6 billion euros (9.9 billion pounds) in January, was going well.

"Our operating environment remains challenging but our business fundamentals are strong and with our continued focus on profitability, cost reductions and driving distribution of the enlarged brand and product portfolio, we remain on track for another successful year," Chief Executive Gareth Davis said.

Cigarette volumes for the enlarged group grew 45 percent to 207 billion in the nine months to June 30, up from 143 billion in the same period last year.

In May, the group launched a deeply discounted 4.9 billion pound rights issue to pay for Altadis, and Imperial Tobacco said on Thursday its net debt level had been reduced to just under 12 billion pounds as at the end of June.

Imperial Tobacco's purchase of Altadis gave it brands including Gauloises and Fortuna to add to its own West and Davidoff.

Shares in Imperial Tobacco closed at 1,768 pence on Wednesday to value the company at around 17.6 billion pounds.

Imperial Tobacco said it intended to delist its American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) from the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Mike Elliott; Editing by Louise Ireland)