UPDATE: Lorillard Posts Lower Q4 Profit

Lorillard

reported a 5.2% drop in its fourth-quarter earnings. Lorillard's quarterly profit slipped to $293 million, from a year-ago profit of $309 million. Its per-share earnings came in flat at $0.80 per share. Excluding special items, it earned $0.82 per share. Its sales climbed 2.3% to $1.74 billion. However, analysts were expecting a profit of $0.86 per share on sales of $1.31 billion. Lorillard shares fell 1.90% to $49.00 in pre-market trading.