Altria beats by $0.11, misses on revs; guides FY18 EPS above consensus; CEO Marty Barrington to retire in May, promotes current COO Howard Willard to CEO and Chairman (70.34)
- Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.91 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.11 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.80; revenues fell 0.4% year/year to $4.71 bln vs the $4.8 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
- Co issues upside guidance for FY18, sees EPS of $3.90-4.03, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $3.79 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Altria's 2018 guidance reflects investments in focus areas for long-term growth, including innovative product development and launches, regulatory science, brand equity, retail fixtures and future retail concepts. Altria expects its 2018 full-year adjusted effective tax rate will be in a range of ~23% to 24%.
- Altria's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Marty Barrington announces his decision to retire at the conclusion of the May 17, 2018 Annual Shareholder Meeting; Altria's Board of Directors (Board) has elected Howard Willard, 54, to serve as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and Billy Gifford, 47, to serve as Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer.