Lorillard Lags Sector, Misses Forecast

GREENSBORO, N.C. (TheStreet) -- Lorillard(LO Quote) announced today that it posted lower-than-expected third-quarter profit, although its shipment orders were better than those of its rivals.

The maker of Newport cigarettes earned $235 million, or $1.44 a share, compared with $237, or $1.38 in the year-ago period. There were fewer shares outstanding in the current quarter.

Results missed expectations, as analysts expected the company to earn $1.52 a share.

Revenue climbed 26% to $1.42 billion from $1.13 billion -- although, excluding federal excise taxes issued earlier this year, revenue inched up just 2%.

Lorillard shipped 9.46 billion cigarettes during the quarter, down 6.3% from last year, but this was a significantly lower decline than the industry average of about a 12% drop.

Last week, rivals Altria(MO Quote), Philip Morris International(PM Quote) and Reynolds American(RAI Quote), all beat Wall Street's outlook and upped their full-year forecasts.

-- Reported by Jeanine Poggi in New York

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