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Tag: Altria Group

  • FTC Complaint Against Altria’s Investment in Juul Dismissed

    FTC Complaint Against Altria’s Investment in Juul Dismissed

    Photo: Aerial Mike

    A U.S. Administrative Law Judge has dismissed the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) claims against Altria and Juul Labs arising out of Altria’s 2018 minority investment in Juul. Following a three-week trial, the judge found that the evidence failed to sustain the alleged violations.

    The judge’s decision is subject to review by the FTC. Any decision by the FTC may be appealed to any U.S. Court of Appeals.

    “We are pleased with this decision and have said all along that our minority investment in JUUL does not harm competition and does not violate the antitrust laws,” said Murray Garnick, executive vice president and general counsel of Altria, in a statement

    In April 2020, the FTC issued an administrative complaint against Altria and Juul alleging that Altria’s 35 percent investment in Juul and the associated agreements constitute an unreasonable restraint of trade in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 and Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914, and substantially lessened competition in violation of Section 7 of the Clayton Antitrust Act.

    A public version of the decision is expected to be made available late this month.

  • Altria Lauded for Sustainable Supply Chain Management

    Altria Lauded for Sustainable Supply Chain Management

    Altria Group has been recognized as a member of CDP’s 2021 Supplier Engagement Leaderboard for climate change, highlighting Altria’s and its subsidiaries’ work in sustainable supply chain management. Its supplier engagement rating (SER) positions it in the top 8 percent of companies who disclosed to CDP’s full climate questionnaire.

    The SER provides a rating for how effectively companies are engaging their suppliers on climate change. CDP assesses performance on supplier engagement using a company’s response to selected questions on governance, targets, scope 3 emissions, and value chain engagement in the CDP climate change questionnaire.

    “We believe Altria’s and our subsidiaries’ strong, sustainable partnerships with our supplier base and trade partners are critical to our future success and the achievement of Altria’s Vision,” said Sal Mancuso, executive vice president, chief financial officer, in a statement. “We are committed to driving sustainability and diversity through the value chain and we welcome the opportunity to engage further with our suppliers on environmental sustainability as a CDP supply chain member.”

    Last year, Altria was recognized for a second consecutive year with a double ‘A’ rating for tackling climate change and protecting water security by CDP, a non-profit that runs a global disclosure system on managing environmental impact. CDP’s A List distinguishes companies for leadership on transparency and action on key environmental issues.

  • Dinyar S. Devitre to Retire From Altria Board

    Dinyar S. Devitre to Retire From Altria Board

    Photo: Bill Gallery

    Dinyar S. Devitre will retire from Altria Group’s board of directors following the completion of his current term. Consequently, Devitre will not stand for re-election to the board of directors at Altria’s 2022 annual meeting of shareholders, which is presently anticipated to be held on May 19, 2022.

    “Altria has benefited from Dinny’s significant contributions for nearly 50 years, including the time he served as Altria’s senior vice president and chief financial officer and his 14 years on the board,” said Kathryn McQuade, Altria’s independent board chair, in a statement. “We thank him for his remarkable service to this company.”

    “I’ve had the privilege and benefit of working closely with Dinny over my time in leadership,” said Billy Gifford, Altria’s CEO. “We will miss his insights and perspective built from so many years of distinguished service and wish him all the very best.”

    A director on Altria’ s board since 2008, Devitre is the chair of the finance committee and a member of the compensation and talent development, nominating, corporate governance and social responsibility, and executive committees.

    He is a director of IHS Markit, Avestar Capital, Pratham USA and the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

  • Morgan Stanley: Antitrust Loss May be Win for Altria

    Morgan Stanley: Antitrust Loss May be Win for Altria

    Photo: Andriy Blokhin

    The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) may issue its initial decision in the Altria Group/Juul Labs antitrust case by Feb. 17, according to Morgan Stanley. The investment bank expects the FTC to instruct Altria to divest its stake in the e-cigarette manufacturer.

    While Morgan Stanley expects the market to react negatively if the FTC finds that Altria’s investment violates antitrust law, it sees little downside to Altria from an adverse ruling.

    Altria would likely appeal the decision, which could result in a multiyear legal process, first with the full Commission and then at the U.S. Court of Appeals. Altria would be able to retain its stake in Juul during this process.

    What’s more, Juul’s impaired valuation—the company was worth $1.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021, down from $12.8 billion—underscores Juul’s tempered growth prospects.

    Also, continuing the legal process leaves open the possibility that the companies can reach a favorable settlement.

    Alternatively, if Altria does not contest the FTC’s decision and sells its stake in Juul, it would benefit from crystallizing its loss on the original investment, according to Morgan Stanley, and could apply the tax shield to offset capital gains elsewhere

    The case dates to April 2020, when the FTC filed an administrative complaint against the companies, alleging that Altria’s investment in Juul violates federal antitrust laws and seeking to unwind Altria’s investment.

    The case has been before the administrative law judge since June 2021, with Altria and Juul defending their relationship and presenting extensive evidence and witnesses in support of maintaining Altria’s investment.

    The administrative law judge’s initial deadline to decide was Dec. 22, 2021, but the judge filed an extension twice due to the complexity of the issues and extensive amount of materials in the case.

  • Altria Group Reports Full-Year Results

    Altria Group Reports Full-Year Results

    Photo: Casimiro

    Altria Group earned net revenues of $26.01 billion in 2021, down 0.5 percent from its 2020 net revenues. Net revenues net of excise taxes was up 1.3 percent to $21.11 billion in 2021. For the fourth quarter of 2021, Altria Group reported net revenues of $6.26 billion, down 0.8 percent over those reported in the comparable 2020 period. Revenues net of excise taxes were up 0.6 percent to $5.09 billion for the fourth quarter.

    “Altria delivered outstanding results in 2021 across our businesses, including strong financial performance, progress toward our vision and advancements in our ESG efforts,” said Altria CEO Billy Gifford in a statement.

    “We returned more than $8.1 billion in cash to shareholders in 2021 through dividends and share repurchases. This total represents the third-largest single-year cash return in Altria’s history and the largest annual return since 2002.

    “Our plans for the year ahead include a continuation of our strategy to balance earnings growth and shareholder returns with investments toward our vision. We expect to deliver 2022 full-year adjusted diluted EPS in a range of $4.79 to $4.93, representing a growth rate of 4 percent to 7 percent from an adjusted diluted EPS base of $4.61 in 2021.”

    Altria’s heated-tobacco business suffered a setback when the U.S. International Trade Commission imposed an importation ban on the IQOS device, Marlboro HeatSticks and infringing components following an intellectual property dispute with Reynolds American Inc. As a result, the IQOS system is no longer available for sale in the U.S.

    Atria says it remains focused on returning IQOS to the U.S. market.