Monday, February 08, 2010

Lorillard Q4 Profit Falls, but Still Beats View (LO)

Cigarette maker Lorillard Inc. (LO) said Monday that its fourth-quarter profit fell 6% from last year on higher costs, but results still beat analyst expectations.

The Greensboro, North Carolina-based company reported fourth quarter net income of $242 million U.S., or $1.52 U.S. per share, compared with $258 million U.S., or $1.53 U.S. per share, in the year-ago period. On average, Wall Street analysts expected a slightly smaller profit of $1.51 U.S. per share for the quarter.

Lorillard saw nearly flat per-share profit from last year due to having less shares outstanding in the latest quarter.

Sales jumped 27% from last year, to $1.38 billion U.S., mainly due to a recent federal tax increase. Excluding excise taxes, sales rose 2.2% to $932 million.

Lorillard shares were mostly flat in premarket trading Monday.

The Bottom Line
Shares of LO back were recommended back on July 27, when the stock was trading at $71.90 U.S. The company has a 5.37% dividend yield, based on Friday's closing stock price of $74.50 U.S.

Lorillard Inc. (LO) is not recommended at this time, however, holding a Dividend.com DARS Rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars.