New York: Altria Group Inc. said on Thursday its fourth-quarter profit fell 69 per cent from year-ago results that included its overseas unit, which has been spun off.
Profit from continuing operations rose 5.7 per cent. And the company said it expected 2009 profit from continuing operations to grow 3 per cent to 6 per cent.
The owner of the nation's biggest cigarette maker had net income of $679 million, or 33 cents per share, in the quarter ending December 31. That compares with the $2.19 billion, or $1.03 per share, it earned a year earlier when its operations included Philip Morris International.
It still owns Philip Morris USA, seller of Marlboros in the US. Altria is based in Richmond, Virginia.
Revenue rose 3 per cent to $4.65 billion from $4.53 billion during the fourth quarter. The company charged higher prices to offset a 2.1 per cent decline in the volume of cigarettes sold in the US.
Profit excluding one-time charges was 37 cents, meeting a consensus estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters. Analysts, who typically exclude the charges, also expected revenue of $3.87 billion.
One-time costs in the most recent quarter included severance payments from plant closures and the relocation of its headquarters. Philip Morris International was spun off in March, and the company moved its headquarters from Midtown Manhattan to Richmond.
The tottering credit markets also forced Altria to pay higher-than-anticipated interest. The interest payments were for loans to buy smokeless tobacco company UST Inc. UST owns the Copenhagen and Skoal brands. Altria closed the $10.4 billion acquisition earlier this month.
Chief Executive Michael E. Szymanczyk said the buyout "transformed Altria into the premier tobacco company in the United States."
Altria and its rivals, mindful of falling demand for cigarettes amid health concerns, are trying to convert smokers to using smokeless alternatives such as moist snuff, chewing tobacco and snus. Snus are teabag-like pouches that users stick between their cheek and gum.
Looking ahead, Altria estimated its per-share profit from continuing operations would rise to a range of $1.70 to $1.75. That is up from the $1.65 per share it earned last year.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect per-share profit of $1.75 and revenue of $16.75 billion in 2009.
Profit for all of 2008 fell 50 percent, again reflecting the spin-off of the international business since the year-ago quarter. Net income for the full year was $4.93 billion, or $2.36 per share, down from $9.79 billion, or $4.62 per share. Revenue rose 4 per cent to $19.36 billion from $18.66 billion.
In 2008, profit from continuing operations rose 10 per cent to $1.65 per share, falling a penny short of analysts' prediction.
The Thomson analysts had also expected revenue of $15.86 billion.
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