Lorillard Shipments Down Marginally in First Quarter

Source from:  tr.itsmyiq.com Apr 29, 2008 04/30/2008

Lorillard Tobacco shipped 8,561,689,000 cigarettes during the three months to the end of March, marginally fewer than the 8,577,344,000 shipped during the first quarter of 2007. Shipments of full price brands were down from 7,960,182,000 during the first three months of 2007 to 7,847,719,000, while shipments of price/value brands were up from 427,070,000 to 567,504,000. Shipments of Lorillard's full-price Newport brand were down from 7,731,573,000 to 7,650,379,000, while shipments of its price/value Maverick brand were up from 278,118,000 to 440,508,000. The Loews Corp yesterday reported first quarter consolidated net income, for both the Loews Group and the Carolina Group, of $662 million, down from $768 million during the first quarter of 2007. The Carolina Group's net income for the first quarter of 2008, at $171 million, was down from $189 million during the first quarter of 2007. The decline in net income was said to have reflected increased selling, advertising and administrative expenses as a result of costs associated with the proposed spin-off of Lorillard and lower investment income, partially offset by lower interest expense related to the Carolina Group notional debt. The Carolina Group, which principally comprises Lorillard, is a notional group, not a separate legal entity, and its stock, commonly called a tracking stock, is intended to reflect the economic performance of a defined group of Loews' assets and liabilities. But, in December, Loews announced that its board of directors had approved a plan to spin-off its entire ownership interest in Lorillard to holders of Carolina Group stock and Loews common stock in a tax-free transaction. As a result of the transaction, the Carolina Group, and all of the Carolina Group stock, will be eliminated and Lorillard will become a separate publicly traded company. The Carolina Group's net sales were up from $913 million to $921 million, an increase that primarily reflected higher average unit prices. Gross profit was essentially unchanged as the increase in net sales was offset by higher costs related to the State Settlement Agreements. Enditem