Lorillard shipped fewer cigarettes in the third quarter but sales rose due to higher prices, the third largest US cigarette maker said.

Cigarette volume fell 2.1 per cent to 10.1 billion units in the three months through 30 Sept. Newport volume was down 2.3 per cent at 8.3 billion units. Through nine months, Newport volume at 24.9 billion units was down 2.7 per cent, Lorillard said in a statement.
Shipping volume declined although Lorillard increased US market share by 0.2 percentage points to 14.4 per cent. Sales rose 2.4 per cent to USD 1.66 billion (EUR 1.27 billion), and operating income gained 5.5 per cent to USD 480 million. Gross profit at USD 602 million represented 36.2 per cent of sales.
“The competitive environment, both in terms of pricing and product introductions, has clearly heated up,” said Chief Executive Officer Murray Kessler. (ci)