RJ Reynolds Tobacco shipment volume fell 4.3 per cent in the third quarter, however the pace of decline slowed, Reynolds American said.

Market share for key brands Camel and Pall Mall rose 0.7 percentage points to 17.8 per cent. Total share, in which the two key brands account for 70 per cent, dipped 0.5 percentage points to 26 per cent of the US market.
Moist snuff growth at the American Snuff unit led the industry in the third quarter, Reynolds Americans said. Grizzly brand volume expanded 8.3 per cent and market share by 1.6 percentage points to 30.4 per cent.
Santa Fe Natural Tobacco operating income in the three-month period ended 30 Sept rose nearly 30 per cent on higher volume and pricing. Market share for Natural American Spirit rose 0.3 percentage points to 1.5 per cent as volume surged 21.7 per cent.
Combined sales rose 0.9 per cent to USD 2.14 billion (EUR 1.56 billion) and operating income was 10 per cent higher at USD 791 million. RJR accounted for USD 1.7 billion of combined sales and USD 635 million of the operating income, Reynolds American said.
RJR, the second largest tobacco company in the US, shipped 16.7 billion cigarettes in the third quarter.