Altria Back To Profit In Q3, But Misses Estimates; Narrows Annual Earnings Outlook

(RTTNews) - Tobacco products provider Altria Group, Inc. (MO) Thursday reported profit of $224 million or $0.12 per share in the third quarter, compared with loss of $2.722 billion or $1.48 per share in the same quarter a year ago.

This was primarily due to lower losses from investments in equity securities of $2.478 billion in the latest quarter compared with $5.915 billion loss last year.

Excluding one-time items, earnings were $1.28 per share, that missed the average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson-Reuters of $1.3 per share. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Revenue for the quarter decreased 3.5% to $6.55 billion, mainly driven by the sale of the company's former Ste. Michelle wine business in October 2021 and lower revenues in the smokeable products segment. The consensus estimate was for $5.59 billion.

Looking forward, Altria has narrowed its guidance for full-year adjusted EPS to a range of $4.81-$4.89, compared with the prior outlook of $4.79-$4.93. Analysts expect the company to report earnings of $4.85 per share for the year.