Altria Group, a tobacco company, presented its fourth-quarter results which showed diminished profits, but these were still higher than market predictions. The company also announced a new $1 billion share repurchase scheme slated for completion by the end of 2024, following approval from the Board of Directors.
The company provided projections for fiscal 2024, predicting its adjusted earnings per share to fall within a $5.00 to $5.15 range. This suggests a 1 to 4% growth from a $4.95 base in 2023. Analysts from Thomson Reuters, on average, anticipate the company to report earnings of $5.08 per share. Typically, analyst guesstimates do not account for special items.
The company also clarified that its expected growth in adjusted earnings would be primarily seen in the second half of the year. The projected calculations do not include an anticipated per share increase of $1.14 resulting from the sale of IQOS Tobacco Heating System commercialization rights, which is expected to occur in the second quarter of 2024.
The company's recent fourth-quarter results showed a bottom line of $2.06 billion, or $1.16 per share, a decrease from last year's fourth-quarter results of $2.69 billion, or $1.50 per share. The adjusted earnings for the period were reported as $2.08 billion or $1.18 per share, which slightly exceeded analyst expectations of $1.17 per share.
The quarterly revenue for Altria Group slid 2.1% to $5.98 billion, down from $6.11 billion the previous year. Meanwhile, on the NYSE, Altria's pre-market shares traded at $40.61, marking a 1.22% increase.
