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([link widoczny dla zalogowanych]) Altria Fourth-Quarter Adjusted Earnings 44 Cents-Share; Estimate 44 Cents
Altria Group Inc., the largest U.S. tobacco company, said fourth-quarter profit increased 27 percent,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], helped by higher prices for [link widoczny dla zalogowanych] and snuff sales.
Net income rose to $919 million, or 44 cents a share,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], from $725 million, or 35 cents, a year earlier,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], the Richmond,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], Virginia-based maker of Copenhagen snuff said today. That matched the average of eight estimates in a Bloomberg survey.([link widoczny dla zalogowanych])
Altria raised prices for cigarettes twice in the past year, countering a 7 percent decline in shipments in the quarter. Altria, which became the largest smokeless tobacco company in 2009 with Chief Executive Officer Michael Szymanczyk??s acquisition of UST Inc.,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], also benefited from increasing demand for snuff.
([link widoczny dla zalogowanych]) Altria fell 3 cents to $24.26 yesterday in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The stock has declined 1.4 percent this year,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], after advancing 25 percent in 2010.
Altria Group Inc., owner of the biggest U.S. cigarette maker([link widoczny dla zalogowanych]) Philip Morris USA reports its fourth-quarter and full-year results before the stock market opens Thursday.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Whether the top-selling Marlboro brand continues to gain market share. Marlboro has gained market share as the number of cigarettes sold has declined industrywide in the face of recent tax increases, smoking bans and rising health concerns and social stigma.
The company said Marlboro accounted for 42.6 percent of cigarettes sold in the U.S. in the third quarter. Richmond-based Altria's other brands,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], including Virginia Slims, Parliament and Basic, lost market share.
Altria faces competition from other companies' less expensive brands ([link widoczny dla zalogowanych]) like Pall Mall from Reynolds American Inc. and Maverick from Lorillard Inc. Even so,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], Altria has raised prices on some brands and maintained its profit per pack.
The company continues to work on cutting general and manufacturing costs by $1.5 billion compared with 2006.
Analysts also will be looking to see how Altria's Black & Mild cigars and Copenhagen and Skoal smokeless tobacco products, as well as Marlboro Snus,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], perform. Its smokeless products have seen gains in recent quarters, while its cigar business saw volumes and market share dip in the latest period.
Altria and other tobacco companies are looking to cigarette alternatives such as cigars,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], snuff and chewing tobacco for growth.([link widoczny dla zalogowanych])
WHY IT MATTERS: Increased spending on premium brands like Marlboro could signal consumers are adjusting to higher prices on cigarettes following a federal and state tax increases. Consumer spending continues to be critical to a strong rebound from the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.
WHAT'S EXPECTED: Analysts expect Altria to earn 45 cents per share on sales of $4.22 billion,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], according to FactSet. Analysts typically exclude one-time items from their earnings estimates.([link widoczny dla zalogowanych])
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