David Ireland talks about the management and investors - Video Transcript
Imperial Tobacco has frequently been the most highly rated company in the European sector in recent years and I think the reasons for this are various.
I think the management is probably the most highly regarded in the sector and investors are drawn to the fact that the company has a big focus on cost control, it has the highest margins in the industry in Europe, it is a very cash generative company and it has also demonstrated that it has a good track record on acquisitions.
Sometimes people are concerned that the only people who benefit from acquisitions are the shareholders who are selling out, but I think Imperial has demonstrated since it started doing acquisitions in 1996 that it can normally achieve good returns for its shareholders, and I think this is one of the characteristics that draws investors to Imperial when they think about the immediate future.