PM USA’s domestic cigarette shipment volume during the three months to the end of March, at 28,727 million, was down by 2.7 percent on that of the first quarter of 2016, 29,539 million.
In reporting its first-quarter results, Altria – of which PM USA is its cigarette division – said that the fall in cigarette shipments was driven primarily by the industry’s rate of decline, partially offset by trade inventory movements. ‘When adjusted for trade inventory movements and other factors, PM USA estimates that its domestic cigarettes shipment volume decreased by approximately three percent, in line with its estimate for total industry cigarette volumes,’ Altria said.
Within PM USA’s total shipments, Marlboro volume was down by 2.6 percent to 24,695 million, while the volume of the company’s other premium brands fell by 4.2 percent to 1,450 million. Sales of discount brands fell by 3.1 percent to 2,582 million.
PM USA’s cigarette market share during the three months to the end of March, at 51.0 percent, was down by 0.1 of a percentage point on that of the first quarter of 2016.
Marlboro’s share fell by 0.2 of a percentage point to 43.6 percent, while the share of the company’s other premium brands fell by 0.1 of a percentage point to 2.7 percent. The share of PM USA’s discount brands increased by 0.2 of a percentage point to 4.7 per cent.
Altria’s first quarter results, reported yesterday, included also those of Middleton and USSTC.
Middleton’s domestic cigar shipment volume during the three months to the end of March, at 367 million, was up by 12.2 percent on that of the first quarter of 2016, 327 million. Shipment volume of the company’s Black & Mild brand was increased by 14.5 percent to 363 million, while that of its other brands fell from 10 million to four million.
USSTC’s domestic market shipment volume of smokeless products during the three months to the end of March, at 198.5 million cans and packs, was down by 5.0 percent on that of the first quarter of 2016, 206.1 million.
Copenhagen’s shipment volume fell by 0.2 percent to 124.5 million, and Skoal’s volume was down by 13.8 percent to 55.6 million. The shipment volume of other brands fell by 6.5 percent to 15.7 million.
The decrease in smokeless volumes was said to have been caused primarily by a voluntary recall of some of USSTC’s products. The company estimated that, overall, the smokeless product category volume grew by about two percent during the past six months.
USSTC’s retail market share during the three months to the end of March, at 53.5 percent, was down by 0.7 of a percentage point from that of the first quarter of 2016.
Copenhagen’s market share increased by 1.2 percentage points to 33.0 percent, while Skoal’s share fell by 1.6 percentage points to 17.3 percent. Other brands’ market share fell by 0.3 of a percentage point to 3.2 percent.
In announcing the results, Marty Barrington, Altria’s chairman, CEO and president, said that Altria was off to a solid start in 2017, despite some short-term headwinds.
“We grew first-quarter adjusted diluted earnings per share by 1.4 percent against a difficult comparison in the year-ago quarter when we grew adjusted diluted EPS more than 14 percent,” he said.
“The smokeable products segment continued to generate strong results, which offset lower equity earnings from our beer investment and the effect of the voluntary product recall in the smokeless products segment.
“Our business fundamentals remain strong and we believe we are well-positioned for the rest of the year.
“Thus, we are reaffirming our 2017 full-year adjusted diluted EPS growth guidance of 7.5 percent to 9.5 percent. We continue to expect adjusted diluted EPS growth to be weighted to the second half.”