Reynolds American Q4 Adj. Profit Misses View; Hikes Dividend - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Reynolds American Inc. (RAI) reported a surge in profit for the fourth quarter from last year on strong revenue growth. However, adjusted earnings per share for the quarter missed analysts' estimates.

The company's fourth-quarter net income rose to $279 million or $0.19 per share from $148 million or $0.14 per share in the prior-year quarter.

Excluding items, adjusted earnings per share was $0.48, compared to last year's $0.44. On average, nine analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.50 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Net sales for the quarter increased 43.1 percent to $3.05 billion from $2.13 billion in the same quarter last year. Analysts expected revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter.

The company's board of directors approved a 16.7 percent increase in its quarterly dividend, to an annualized $1.68 per share, in line with the company's target dividend payout ratio of 75 percent. The quarterly dividend will be payable on April 1, 2016, to shareholders of record on March 10, 2016.

Looking ahead to fiscal 2016, Reynolds American forecast adjusted earnings per share in a range of $2.25 to $2.35, up 13.6 percent to 18.7 percent from 2015. The Street expects the company to earn $2.34 per share for the year.