Reynolds American Inc.'s fourth-quarter profit more than doubled to $292 million as higher prices and lower legal expenses offset a decline in cigarette sales, and it benefited from the year-ago comparison. The maker of Camel, Pall Mall cigarettes and Natural American Spirit cigarettes said revenue excluding excise taxes fell about 2 percent to $2.04 billion.
The number of cigarettes sold by its R.J. Reynolds Tobacco subsidiary fell about 9 percent during the quarter to 15.6 billion. Volumes for Pall Mall fell more than 6 percent and volumes for Camel fell 3.5 percent. Both brands gained market share.
SMOKELESS TOBACCO: Volume for its smokeless tobacco brands including Grizzly and Kodiak rose about 8 percent compared with a year ago. The brands had a 33.3 percent share of the U.S. retail market, which is tiny compared with cigarettes.