Lorillard, number one in the US menthol cigarette market, increased its market share by 1.6 percentage points in the fourth quarter to nearly 40 per cent of the segment, the company said.

Data for the final three months of last year show the company’s leading brand Newport also gained 1.6 to 36.7 per cent of the menthol segment. The Kent, True, Old Gold and Maverick brands all posted declines for the quarter and for the full year. Overall, Lorillard total market share rose for the eleventh consecutive year in 2012, by 0.7 percentage points to 14.9 per cent.
Shipping volume for the quarter declined 1.6 per cent to 9.9 billion sticks and by 0.5 per cent to 39.9 billion sticks in 2012. Volume performance at Lorillard was substantially better than the US industry, which is estimated to have contracted 6.2 per cent in 2012.
Operating income dipped 1.3 per cent to USD 515 million (EUR 377 million) in the three months to 31 Dec. Full year operating income rose 10.4 per cent to USD 2.1 billion on sales that gained 4.9 per cent to just below USD 7 billion.