Marlboro maker Altria’s 1Q profit falls on lower cigarette sales, year-ago comparison
RICHMOND, Va. – Altria’s first-quarter profit dropped 15 per cent as the Marlboro maker sold fewer cigarettes and its year-ago results benefited lower expenses from a longstanding legal settlement.
The owner of the nation’s biggest cigarette maker, Philip Morris USA, posted earnings Thursday of $1.17 billion, or 59 cents per share. That’s down from $1.38 billion, or 69 cents a share, in the year-ago period.
Excluding one-time items, earnings were 57 cents per share, matching Wall Street expectations.
Altria Group Inc., based in Richmond, Va., said that revenue, excluding excise taxes, increased less than a per cent to $4.01 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet expected $4.03 billion.
Cigarette shipments fell 2.5 per cent to 29 billion cigarettes. Volumes of its premium Marlboro brand fell about 2 per cent. Smokeless tobacco volumes grew about 6 per cent.
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