Philip Morris USA, Reynolds Raise Cigarette Prices

Source from:  Bloomberg 12/03/2010

Altria Group Inc. and Reynolds American Inc., the largest U.S. tobacco companies, raised cigarette prices by 8 cents a pack after their top-selling brands gained market share. The price increase to distributors covers all brands, including Marlboro, produced by Altria's Philip Morris USA starting with Dec. 6 shipments, David Sutton, a spokesman for Richmond, Virginia-based Altria, said in an e-mail. The increase on Camel and other R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. brands is effective Dec. 7, said Jane Seccombe, a Reynolds American spokeswoman. Altria increased Marlboro's share of U.S. sales by 0.7 percentage point to 42.6 percent in the third quarter. Reynolds, based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, spends the most marketing Camel, which gained 0.4 point to 8 percent, and Pall Mall, which increased its market share by 2.8 points to 7.8 percent. The higher prices are part of Altria's efforts to "manage its business against marketplace dynamics," said Sutton, without elaborating. Reynolds is reacting to "ongoing costs of our goods and services," Seccombe said.