International Key to Altria's Quarterly Growth

Source from:  By William Spain, MarketWatch Jan. 30, 2008 01/31/2008

Altria Group Inc.'s fourth-quarter profit fell 26%, a reflection of the tobacco titan spinning off Kraft Foods nearly a year ago, even as revenue jumped, financial results showed Wednesday. Altria (MO:altria group inc com News, chart, profile, more Last: 76.50+0.38+0.50% Delayed quote dataAdd to portfolio Analyst Create alertInsider Discuss Financials Sponsored by: MO 76.50, +0.38, +0.5%) , part of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, also formally announced it will spin off its Philip Morris International unit to shareholders in March, pegging a one-for-one distribution ratio on the deal. Shares of Altria, which spun off Kraft (KFT:kraft foods inc cl a News, chart, profile, more Last: 29.45-0.74-2.45% Delayed quote dataAdd to portfolio Analyst Create alertInsider Discuss Financials Sponsored by: KFT 29.45, -0.74, -2.4%) in March 2007, closed the session with a 0.5% gain at $76.50. Altria said it earned $2.19 billion, or $1.03 a share, for the latest quarter, down from $2.96 billion, or