UPDATE 3-Imperial new CEO focuses on growth after EPS beat

* Alison Cooper to succeed Davis as CEO

* Cooper puts emphasis on sales growth

* Imperial year earnings 161.8 pence, vs forecast 160 pence

* Shares rise 3.5 pct

(Recasts, Adds comments from CEO, COO, analyst, shares)

By David Jones

LONDON, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Imperial Tobacco's (IMT.L) new chief executive-designate Alison Cooper put a new focus on boosting sales after the world's No. 4 cigarette group beat forecasts with an 18 percent rise in annual earnings.

Cooper, currently number two at 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.