Altria Group plans to save as much as USD 2 billion annually following the spin-off of its Philip Morris International (PMI) unit.

Executives from Altria's U.S. and overseas divisions discussed their strategies at a New York conference yesterday with a focus on expense reductions, reports Bloomberg news agency.
PMI plans to cut costs by USD 1 billion by 2011, while the U.S. division, hurt by falling cigarette sales, expects to trim expenses by USD 700 million on top of USD 300 million last year. Long-term earnings per share growth are expected at 10 -12 per cent for PMI, New York-based Altria said in a statement, while profit in 2008 from continuing operations is expected to rise as much as 14 per cent. Excluding the overseas unit, Altria expects per-share profit to advance by 9 – 11 per cent in 2008, slightly higher than the long-term range of 8 – 10 per cent.
Louis Camilleri, who will become chairman and CEO at PMI and Mike Szymancyzk, who will be Altria's chairman and CEO, said their companies are looking for acquisitions to spur revenue growth. Neither provided specific targets.
The spin-off of PMI is set for 28 March. (pi)