Altria Group to Lay Off Workers to Cut Costs -- 2nd Update
January 28 2016 - 3:02PM
Dow Jones News
By Tripp Mickle and Chelsey Dulaney
U.S. tobacco giant Altria Group Inc. on Thursday said it would
cut roughly 5% of its workforce in an effort to reduce costs by
$300 million annually as industry volumes decline.
The Marlboro maker announced the layoffs on the same day it
reported profit and revenue for the fourth quarter that missed Wall
Street expectations as cigarette shipments slipped and earnings
declined from its stake in SABMiller PLC's beer business.
Altria's earnings rose slightly to $1.25 billion, or 64 cents a
share, from $1.24 billion, or 63 cents a share, a year earlier.
The results foreshadowed some of the challenges facing the
U.S.'s largest tobacco company, which commits to deliver 7% to 9%
annual earnings growth.
Altria reported adjusted earnings growth of 8.9% for 2015 in
part because it saved an estimated $300 million in costs because of
the expiration of a federal program that required the company pay
subsidies for tobacco farmers. The company also benefited from the
first increase in cigarette volumes in years as lower gas prices
put more money in consumers' pockets.
But the benefits of lower costs from tobacco subsidies ended in
the second half of last year, and the company anticipates industry
cigarette volumes eventually will return to historic levels of
decline in the 3% to 4% range. The company's 27% stake in SABMiller
also is expected to affect results as the London-based brewer
struggles with volatile currencies in South America and Africa.
"That's what makes this year a tough act to follow," said CLSA
analyst Michael Lavery.
Altria said it would eliminate 490 salaried jobs. The Richmond,
Va.-based company employs about 9,000 people. It is the second
round of cuts in the past five years. In 2011, the company
announced it would eliminate 15% of its salaried workforce as part
of a $400 million cost-savings plan.
When asked during a call with analysts to explain what triggered
this year's cuts, Chief Executive Marty Barrington said, "You
always have to be mindful of costs over time. If you have
opportunities to improve in your infrastructure or to improve your
organization and to invest those savings in your brands or in your
products for the future...you should do that."
Mr. Barrington said the company would reinvest some of the cost
savings into "reduced harm products" such as electronic cigarettes
and in its brands.
In its latest quarter, Altria said higher pricing helped offset
a 2.6% decline in cigarette-shipment volume. The company is facing
stronger competition from No. 2 player Reynolds American Inc.,
which in June closed a $25 billion acquisition of rival Lorillard
Inc. Despite that, Altria's cigarette market share rose to 51.4%
from 50.9% a year earlier.
Net revenue after excise taxes was $4.73 billion, up from $4.61
billion a year earlier. Analysts had been expecting revenue of
$4.75 billion.
The company reported earnings from its SABMiller interest
declined 17% to $211 million from $253 million. Excluding
litigation costs and other special items, per-share earnings were
67 cents, while analysts polled by Thomson Reuters forecast
earnings of 68 cents.
For 2016, Altria is expecting earnings of $3 to $3.05 a share,
excluding restructuring charges. The guidance doesn't include any
impact from the proposed combination of Anheuser-Busch InBev NV and
SABMiller, which is expected to close in the second half of the
year.
Write to Tripp Mickle at Tripp.Mickle@wsj.com and Chelsey
Dulaney at Chelsey.Dulaney@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 28, 2016 14:47 ET (19:47 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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