Higher cigarette prices at Philip Morris USA boosted operating profit despite a 2.6 per cent decline in first-quarter shipment volume, said parent company Altria.

Operating companies’ income adjusted for one-off items rose 8.1 per cent to just over USD 2 billion (EUR 1.8 billion), raising the smokeable products unit operating profit margin nearly 3 percentage points to 51 per cent, Altria said. Shipment volume declined 772 million sticks to 29.1 billion sticks, the latter representing a 51 per cent share of the US market in the three months to 1 April.
A recall of smokeless products at US Smokeless Tobacco (USSTC) resulted in a 7.8 per cent drop in adjusted operating companies’ income to USD 270 million. Shipment volume fell 5 per cent as mainstay moist snuff brands Copenhagen and Skoal were affected by the recall, Altria said. Market share dipped 0.7 percentage point to 53.5 per cent.