WWW - Posts tagged Altria Group Inc. at BloggingStocks

Altria Group Inc. posts

Altria (MO) to spin off overseas cigarettes business

Posted Aug 29th 2007 12:52PM by Michael Fowlkes (RSS feed)
Filed under: International Markets, Analyst Reports, From the Boards, Management, Industry, Law, Competitive Strategy

America's biggest tobacco company, Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO), announced its plan today to spin off its Philip Morris International unit. After the completed spinoff, Altria will be left with a much smaller domestic business, but it will still rank as the biggest in the country.

A big reason for the spinoff is that it will allow the overseas manufacturer to operate in an environment free from legal and regulatory restrictions that the domestic Phillip Morris USA is forced to operated under.

By spinning off this portion of the business, it is hoped that the overseas cigarette maker will be able to have greater success in growing its sales in emerging markets. While the plans seem pretty set in stone right now, there will not be any finalized approval and terms to the spin off until the company's next board meeting, scheduled for January 30.

Continue reading Altria (MO) to spin off overseas cigarettes business

Kraft Foods worth a look as a stand alone stock

Posted Apr 24th 2007 7:52PM by Victoria Erhart (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings Reports, Good news, Bad News, Management, Competitive Strategy, Kraft Foods'A' (KFT)

Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) was spun off by Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) on March 30, into an independent company. In its first independent quarter, Kraft profits dropped 30% to $720 million. But this is far from the full story. Much of the decline in profits can be attributed to one time restructuring costs, and Kraft even managed to beat analyst expectations by a penny as revenues increased 5.7% to $8.6 billion for the quarter.

Now that it is an independent company, is the stock a good investment? I would argue that, in a few months, the $33 per share will seem like a bargain once the restructuring charges are recouped and the new market and product initiatives begin to gain traction.

Continue reading Kraft Foods worth a look as a stand alone stock