IN A RARE and welcome outbreak of corporate responsibility in Ireland, CC chief executive Maurice Pratt has quit his €1 million-a-year post, writes Ciaran Hancock
An amiable and skilful executive, the former Quinnsworth marketing chief took his decision "because the repositioning strategy he has sought to execute over the past two years has not met the expectations he had set for the business".
He is a rare animal in corporate Ireland, where CEOs and other board members generally cling on until the bitter end, regardless of their failures.
This is a country where chief executives can be found guilty by the highest court in the land of breaking the law on insider dealing but not resign immediately thereafter.
Likewise, a bank CEO can have his vault plundered of $691 million of shareholders' profit by a rogue trader in the US and remain in charge.
Pratt's downfall was over-ambition. He expanded the business into snack foods - Tayto and King - and built a portfolio of soft drinks (Ballygowan, Club etc) in advance of flotation.
Its stock market debut was a success, helped by a tasty dividend.
With the Irish cider market virtually sewn up by Bulmers, Pratt rolled the dice big by launching the Magners cider brand into the British market.
Swept away by some early wins, he placed larger and larger bets on Magners, romping up capacity in Clonmel, splurging on marketing and advertising and dipping CC's toes in continental European markets.
Two wet summers and stiff competition from rival Scottish Newcastle resulted in profits going flat. Budgets have since been cut and staff laid off. The crisps and fizzy drinks divisions are long gone. Even the dividend has been halved.
After almost touching €14 in early 2007, CC's shares are now trading at just one-tenth of that price and each month seems to bring yet more bad news about its market share in Britain. It has become a one-trick pony.
There are no obvious internal candidates to replace Pratt. Brendan McGuinness, the highly regarded head of the cider business, left earlier this year.
CC's cider franchises in Ireland and Britain remain strong and its Tullamore Dew whiskey is increasing sales rapidly. With a market value of just €423 million, the cider maker looks ripe for picking by a bigger rival.
