Imperial focuses on sales boost after 18% earnings rise

By The Editor
Nov 10, 2009

Imperial Tobacco’s new chief executive Alison Cooper put a new focus on boosting sales after the world’s fourth-largest cigarette group beat forecasts with an 18% rise in annual earnings.

Cooper, currently number two at Bristol-based Imperial, will take over from Gareth Davis in May. She said the maker of Lambert & Butler, West and Gauloises cigarettes had coped well with recession but now was the time to push the growth button.

“So far we have done pretty well in the downturn, now the emphasis will be on growing sales with our strong global position,” she said at an annual results conference call.

Cooper, 43, was named as Davis’s replacement on Tuesday after being made chief operating officer earlier this year in March and had been widely tipped to take over as chief executive after eight years working at Imperial.

Davis said there would be no revolution in strategy but Imperial would modify its strategy to give greater focus on sales growth.

Despite the global economic downturn, the group was helped as consumers traded down to its cheaper brands while growth in emerging markets such as Asia and Africa helped offset sluggish markets in western Europe.

Profits were boosted by the acquisition of Franco-Spanish group Altadis in January 2008, which added cigarette brands such as Gauloises and Fortuna, and by the effect of the weak pound.

Imperial said its cigarette volumes jumped 10% to 322.2 billion sticks, boosted by Altadis, with tobacco net revenues up 29% at £26.5billion, and operating profits up 59% to £2.3billion.

The shares were 3.5% higher at £18.94 earlier today, boosted by strong earnings and cash generation.