Imperial Brands CEO Exits With Stock the Only Big Tobacco Loser

(Bloomberg) -- Thursday’s announcement that Alison Cooper will step down as Imperial Brands Plc’s chief executive officer ends a more than nine-year tenure that’s been characterized by a fundamental reshaping of the tobacco industry.

The emergence of e-cigarettes and other alternatives to traditional smokes has made life difficult for the industry’s giants, but by share price alone, Cooper’s record suffered more than most.

Since she started the job in May 2010, Imperial shares have fallen about 1%, the only one of the major tobacco companies to decline. Any gains under Cooper’s watch were wiped out last week when the company revised down its full-year revenue forecast and earnings expectations, citing a deterioration in the U.S. vaping market.

“It’s been a tough journey for her in the last year or so and the latest warning was probably the final nail in the coffin,” Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com, wrote in emailed comments. “Competitors have stolen a march.”

The stock price performance under Cooper also compares unfavorably with her predecessor Gareth Davis, who oversaw the company’s listing on the London Stock Exchange in October 1996. The stock jumped more than 500% under Davis, during better days for tobacco companies when investors were willing to overlook the negative connotations in lieu of the healthy dividends.

Analysts don’t see immediate better news for shareholders, either. With both Cooper and Chairman Mark Williamson now leaving, Imperial won’t be in a position “to take any major strategic decisions for months at a time when the industry is changing rapidly,” Citi analyst Adam Spielman wrote in a note. “A new CEO needs to be appointed and then a comprehensive strategic review needs to happen.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Lisa Pham in London at lpham14@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Beth Mellor at bmellor@bloomberg.net, Paul Jarvis

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