Altria Group 3Q profit rises on cost-cutting

ICHMOND, Va. — Altria Group Inc. said Wednesday that cost-cutting and improved results from its cigar unit led its third-quarter profit to rise 2 percent, even though it sold fewer cigarettes
The Richmond-based seller of Marlboro cigarettes, Black & Mild cigars and Copenhagen and Skoal smokeless tobacco products earned $882 million, or 42 cents per share, compared with $867 million, or 42 cents per share, a year ago.
Excluding costs related to its UST LLC acquisition and other items, profit was 48 cents per share.
The performance bested the expectations of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, whose estimates called for a profit of 46 cents per share. Analysts’ estimates generally exclude one-time items.
Altria kicks off the third-quarter earnings season for the tobacco industry, and its results are closely watched by analysts who hope to glean the first real cigarette volume figures for the period. The sector saw declines during the first half of the year because of the federal tax increase that took effect April 1.
The parent company of Philip Morris USA, the nation’s largest U.S. cigarette maker, also credited lower income taxes, results from UST, better earnings from its investment in SABMiller PLC and improvement in its financial services division for bolstering its performance.
Revenue climbed 20 percent to $6.3 billion from $5.24 billion. Excluding excise taxes on its products, revenue dropped 11 percent to $3.73 billion.
Analysts expected revenue excluding excise taxes of $4.66 billion for the quarter ended Sept. 30.