Altria Group, Inc. (Altria) (NYSE: MO) is participating today in
the Barclays Global Consumer Staples Conference in Boston,
Massachusetts. Billy Gifford, Altria’s Chief Financial Officer,
will discuss the company’s business fundamentals, financial goals
and strategies.
Presentation
The presentation is being webcast live at altria.com in a
listen-only mode, beginning at approximately 9:45 a.m. Eastern
Time. A replay of the audio webcast will be available at altria.com
and via the Altria Investor app.
2016 Full-Year Guidance
Altria reaffirms its guidance for 2016 full-year adjusted
diluted earnings per share (EPS), which excludes the special items
for the first half of 2016 as shown in Schedule 1, to be in the
range of $3.01 to $3.07, representing a growth rate of 7.5% to 9.5%
from an adjusted diluted EPS base of $2.80 in 2015, as shown in
Schedule 1. This guidance does not include any impact from the
anticipated Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (AB InBev) and SABMiller plc
(SABMiller) business combination, including effects from the
anticipated reporting lag described in Altria’s 2016 second-quarter
earnings press release, as the transaction remains subject to
certain approvals.
Altria’s full-year adjusted diluted EPS guidance excludes the
impact of certain income and expense items that management believes
are not part of underlying operations. These items may include, for
example, loss on early extinguishment of debt, restructuring
charges, SABMiller special items, certain tax items, charges
associated with tobacco and health litigation items, and
settlements of, and determinations made in connection with, certain
non-participating manufacturer (NPM) adjustment disputes (such
settlements and determinations are referred to collectively as NPM
Adjustment Items).
Altria’s management cannot estimate on a forward-looking basis
the impact of certain income and expense items, including those
items noted in the preceding paragraph, on its reported diluted EPS
because these items, which could be significant, are difficult to
predict and may be highly variable. As a result, Altria does not
provide a corresponding U.S. generally accepted accounting
principles (GAAP) measure for, or reconciliation to, its adjusted
diluted EPS guidance.
The factors described in the Forward-Looking and Cautionary
Statements section of this release represent continuing risks to
Altria’s forecast.
Altria’s Profile
Altria’s wholly-owned subsidiaries include Philip Morris USA
Inc., U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company LLC, John Middleton Co., Nu
Mark LLC, Ste. Michelle Wine Estates Ltd. (Ste. Michelle) and
Philip Morris Capital Corporation. Altria holds a continuing
economic and voting interest in SABMiller.
The brand portfolios of Altria’s tobacco operating companies
include Marlboro®, Black & Mild®,
Copenhagen®, Skoal®, MarkTen® and Green
Smoke®. Ste. Michelle produces and markets premium wines
sold under various labels, including Chateau Ste. Michelle®,
Columbia Crest®, 14 Hands® and Stag’s Leap Wine
Cellars™, and it imports and markets Antinori®,
Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte™, Torres® and Villa
Maria Estate™ products in the United States. Trademarks and
service marks related to Altria referenced in this release are the
property of Altria or its subsidiaries or are used with permission.
More information about Altria is available at altria.com and on the
Altria Investor app.
Forward-Looking and Cautionary
Statements
This press release contains projections of future results and
other forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and
uncertainties and are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor Provisions
of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Important factors that may cause actual results and outcomes to
differ materially from those contained in the projections and
forward-looking statements included in this press release are
described in Altria’s publicly filed reports, including its Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 and its
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30,
2016.
These factors include the following: significant competition;
changes in adult consumer preferences and demand for Altria’s
operating companies’ products; fluctuations in raw material
availability, quality and price; reliance on key facilities and
suppliers; reliance on critical information systems, many of which
are managed by third-party service providers; fluctuations in
levels of customer inventories; the effects of global, national and
local economic and market conditions; changes to income tax laws;
federal, state and local legislative activity, including actual and
potential federal and state excise tax increases; increasing
marketing and regulatory restrictions; the effects of price
increases related to excise tax increases and concluded tobacco
litigation settlements on trade inventories, consumption rates and
consumer preferences within price segments; health concerns
relating to the use of tobacco products and exposure to
environmental tobacco smoke; privately imposed smoking
restrictions; and, from time to time, governmental
investigations.
Furthermore, the results of Altria’s tobacco businesses are
dependent upon their continued ability to promote brand equity
successfully; to anticipate and respond to evolving adult consumer
preferences; to develop, manufacture, market and distribute
products that appeal to adult tobacco consumers (including, where
appropriate, through arrangements with, and investments in, third
parties); to improve productivity; and to protect or enhance
margins through cost savings and price increases.
Altria and its tobacco businesses are also subject to federal,
state and local government regulation, including by the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration. Altria and its subsidiaries continue to be
subject to litigation, including risks associated with adverse jury
and judicial determinations, courts reaching conclusions at
variance with the companies’ understanding of applicable law,
bonding requirements in the limited number of jurisdictions that do
not limit the dollar amount of appeal bonds and certain challenges
to bond cap statutes.
In addition, the factors related to AB InBev’s proposed
transaction to effect a business combination with SABMiller include
the following: the risk that one or more conditions to closing the
proposed transaction may not be satisfied; the risk that a
shareholder or regulatory approval required for the proposed
transaction is not obtained or is obtained subject to conditions
that are not anticipated; AB InBev’s inability to achieve the
contemplated synergies and value creation from the proposed
transaction; the fact that Altria’s election to receive transaction
consideration in the form of equity is subject to proration, which
may result in a reduced percentage ownership of the combined
company, additional tax liabilities and/or changes in Altria’s
ability to account for its interest in the combined company under
the equity method of accounting; the fact that the equity
securities to be received by Altria as transaction consideration
will be subject to restrictions on transfer lasting five years from
completion of the proposed transaction; the risk that AB InBev’s
share price, which affects the value of Altria’s transaction
consideration, will fluctuate based on a variety of factors that
are beyond Altria’s control; the fact that the strengthening of the
U.S. dollar against the British pound would adversely affect
Altria’s cash consideration as the British pound would translate
into fewer U.S. dollars; the risk that the tax treatment of
Altria’s transaction consideration is not guaranteed; and that the
tax treatment of the dividends Altria receives from the new company
may not be as favorable as dividends from SABMiller.
Altria cautions that the foregoing list of important factors is
not complete and does not undertake to update any forward-looking
statements that it may make except as required by applicable law.
All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements
attributable to Altria or any person acting on its behalf are
expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements
referenced above.
Schedule 1
ALTRIA GROUP, INC.
and Subsidiaries
2016 First Six Months Special Items and Reconciliation of 2015
Adjusted Results
Altria’s 2016 First Six Months
Special Items NPM Adjustment Items $ 0.01 Tobacco and
health litigation items 0.01 SABMiller special items 0.06 Asset
impairment, exit and implementation costs 0.04 Gain on derivative
financial instrument (0.05 )
Tax items
(0.01 )
$ 0.06 Reconciliation
of Altria’s 2015 Adjusted Results Full Year
2015 Reported diluted EPS $ 2.67 NPM
Adjustment Items (0.03 ) Tobacco and health litigation items 0.05
SABMiller special items 0.04 Loss on early extinguishment of debt
0.07
Adjusted diluted EPS $ 2.80
Altria reports its financial results in accordance with GAAP.
Altria’s management reviews certain financial results, including
diluted EPS, on an adjusted basis, which excludes certain income
and expense items, including those items noted under “2016
Full-Year Guidance” above. Altria’s management does not view any of
these special items to be part of Altria’s sustainable results as
they may be highly variable, are difficult to predict and can
distort underlying business trends and results. Altria’s management
believes that adjusted financial measures provide useful insight
into underlying business trends and results and provide a more
meaningful comparison of year-over-year results. Altria’s
management uses adjusted financial measures for planning,
forecasting and evaluating business and financial performance,
including allocating resources and evaluating results relative to
employee compensation targets. These adjusted financial measures
are not consistent with GAAP and may not be calculated the same as
similarly titled measures used by other companies. These adjusted
financial measures should thus be considered as supplemental in
nature and not considered in isolation or as a substitute for the
related financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP.
View source
version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160907005978/en/
Altria Client ServicesInvestor Relations804-484-8222orAltria
Client ServicesMedia Relations804-484-8897
Altria (NYSE:MO)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Altria (NYSE:MO)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024