Altria Q1 Earnings Top Estimates

reported better-than-expected earnings for the first quarter on Thursday. The Richmond, Virginia-based company posted quarterly earnings of $1.02 billion, or $0.52 per share, versus $1.18 billion, or $0.59 per share, in the year-ago quarter. Its adjusted earnings came in at $0.63 per share. Its sales climbed to $5.8 billion from $5.52 billion. However, analysts were expecting a profit of $0.62 per share on revenue of $4.13 billion. The smokeable products segment's net revenue gained 5.3 percent in the quarter, while the smokeless products segment's revenue rose 3.6 percent. In the wine segment, Ste. Michelle net revenue rose 3.9 percent in the quarter. During the first quarter, the company paid around $1.0 billion in dividends and repurchased around 3.6 million shares of its common stock for a total cost of $192 million. The average estimate among 7 Estimize users was for earnings of $0.62 per share and revenue of $4.16 billion. "Altria delivered strong operating and financial results in the first quarter, growing adjusted diluted EPS by 10.5% on the strength of our core tobacco businesses and their leading premium brands," said Marty Barrington, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Altria. Altria also reaffirmed its adjusted earnings outlook of $2.75 to $2.80 per share for 2015. Altria shares fell 0.48 percent to $51.87 in pre-market trading.