Altria Group topped quarterly sales expectations, driven by higher pricing and rising demand for alternatives to conventional tobacco products.
Like other tobacco giants, Altria has been revamping its portfolio of products to keep up with consumers switching from traditional tobacco products to vapes or other alternatives and as inflation-hit smokers switched to cheaper brands.
The company's revenue net of excise taxes came in at $4.72 billion (€4.4 billion) in the first quarter, topping analyst expectations of $4.71 billion (€4.4 billion), while profit on an adjusted basis came in line with expectations.
Last year, Altria launched a lower-priced version of its flagship Marlboro brand and finalised its acquisition of e-cigarette startup NJOY Holdings, expanding its portfolio to include pod-based vapes.
Quarterly Highlights
Shipment volumes of Altria’s nicotine pouch, On! increased by 32.1% compared to 25.2% in the previous quarter.
Earlier this year, Altria cut its stake in top beer maker Anheuser-Busch InBev.
Commenting on the company's performance, Billy Gifford, Altria’s chief executive officer stated, “In spite of the absence of an effective regulatory environment, we saw continued early momentum from NJOY and believe our businesses are on track to deliver against full-year plans.
“We also demonstrated our continued commitment to maximising the return on our investments and delivering strong shareholder returns through the sale of a portion of our investment in ABI and the subsequent expansion of our share repurchase programme in March.”
The results echo peer Philip Morris International, which reported upbeat quarterly results, helped by robust demand for its heated tobacco product and Zyn nicotine pouches.
News by Reuters, additional reporting by ESM.
