“We expect double-digit progress in the balance of the year in line with our target of plus 10% to plus 12% growth.”

In context

“nvestment in our smoke-free growth, including U.S. investments, a low cost comparison in the prior year, and the impact of 2025 investment phasing. As we continue to invest in top-line growth, we target organic SG&A growth broadly in line with net revenue growth for the year. We continue to drive manufacturing and back-office efficiency and delivered over $180 million in gross cost savings in Q1 across both cost of goods sold and SG&A. After more than $750 million of savings in 2024, this places us nicely on track to achieve our $2 billion target over 2024-2026. Focusing now on our IQOS business. As expected, calendar effects and EU flavor ban annualization impacted Q1 adjusted IMS. However, the delivery of plus 9.4% growth despite these factors marks continued strong underlying momentum. We expect double-digit progress in the balance of the year in line with our target of plus 10% to plus 12% growth. Supporting this are commercial initiatives around brand building and continuous innovation on devices and consumables as we progressively roll out ILUMA i and new consumable variants of Terea, Levia and Delia. Over the longer term, we have a rich IQOS innovation pipeline to further enhance the breadth and quality of the user experience with the iconic brand. As disclosed in our latest integrated report, over 99% of our 2024 adjusted R&D spend was on smoke-free products consistent with the last four years as we continue to drive consumer-centered product development. Turning to Europe where we are building on the strengths of our IQOS business to create an integrated multi-category portfolio to accelerate consumers switching and value creation. Total shipments of our flagship smoke-free br”