Altria looks to growth in Marlboro brand, smokeless products
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Associated Press
Published: March 11, 2008
NEW YORK (AP) - Altria Group says it will deal with fewer cigarette sales by capitalizing on its Marlboro brand and selling more smokeless products.
Altria is preparing to spin off its Philip Morris International business later this month.
On its own, Altria will consist of Virginia-based Philip Morris USA, a 28.6 percent stake in Britain-based beer maker SABMiller PLC and the Philip Morris Capital Corporation.
In an investor presentation today, Altria projected that cigarette sales volume will fall between 2.5 percent to 3 percent in the U.S. over the next few years.
To deal with this, it has bought cigar maker John Middleton Incorporated, and introduced Marlboro-branded moist smokeless tobacco and snus (snoose), tobacco packets that are popular in parts of Europe.
Mike Szymanczyk (suh-MANN’-zick), who will take over as Altria CEO after the spinoff, said the company plans to build on its Marlboro brand. He said Marlboro is the leading cigarette brand in every state in the country.
Altria will move its headquarters to Richmond, Virginia.
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