Philip Morris USA shipping volume declined an adjusted 2 per cent in the final business quarter and 3 per cent for all of last year, in line with an estimated 3.5 per cent US industry contraction, parent company Altria said.

Flagship cigarette Marlboro held its nearly 44 per cent share of the US retail market in the fourth quarter while the brand’s shipping volume dipped 1.9 per cent to 26.9 billion sticks. For the year Marlboro volume fell 3 per cent to 108 billion sticks. Cigar volume at Altria’s Middleton unit increased 6.1 per cent to 1.3 billion cigars.
Copenhagen snuff posted a 5.3 per cent volume increase last year but a 5 per cent dip for the Skoal brand lowered overall smokeless products volume to 793 million units, a 0.7 per cent increase.
Smokeable products operating companies income (OCI) rose 7.6 per cent to USD 1.7 billion (EUR 1.5 billion) in the fourth quarter as higher prices produced a 1.7 per cent increase in revenue to USD 5.5 billion. Annual operating profit fell 2.7 per cent to USD 6.9 billion in part due to higher litigation charges, Altria said.