Altria's Revenue Stronger Than Expected

First-quarter adjusted earnings meet estimates.
By TSC Staff ,

Altria Group

(MO) - Get Report

met analysts' expectations with its first-quarter earnings and said net revenue increased 2.8% from the same period a year ago.

The cigarette maker, which recently completed the spinoff of

Philip Morris International

(PM) - Get Report

a year after parting ways with

Kraft

( KFT), had earnings for the quarter of $2.45 billion, or $1.16 a share, once various items were factored in. Altria earned $2.75 billion, or $1.30 a share, in the year-earlier period.

Excluding costs related to the spinoff of Philip Morris International and the closing of Altria's headquarters in New York, as well as other items, the company would have had earnings from continuing operations of 37 cents a share, up from 33 cents a year ago. On that basis, Altria matched estimates.

Revenue rose to $4.41 billion from $4.29 billion and exceeded the consensus forecast of $3.83 billion.

Altria reaffirmed its 2008 guidance for adjusted earnings from continuing operations in the range of $1.63 to $1.67, representing a growth rate of approximately 9% to 11% from a base of $1.50 in 2007. On average, analysts are looking for $1.67.

On Wednesday, Philip Morris International

topped analysts' estimates

for the quarter ended March 31.

Shares of Altria rose 1% to $22.53 in regular trading, but gave all of it away in extended action.

Loews

( LTR), which has a tobacco unit, was losing 0.6%.

British American Tobacco

(BTI) - Get Report

wasn't trading late, after it gained 1% in the regular session.

Imperial Tobacco

( ITY) was fractionally lower, and

Reynolds American

(RAI)

was unchanged.

This article was written by a staff member of TheStreet.com.

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