Reynolds American Beats Sales Expectations, While Profit Matches

Reynolds American Inc. reported on Tuesday a third-quarter profit that rose to $781 million, or 46 cents a share, from $505 million, or 44 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, such as asset impairment charges, the cigarette seller said adjusted earnings per share came to 55 cents, matching the FactSet consensus. Revenue rose 41% to $3.16 billion, beating the FactSet consensus of $3.08 billion. Domestic cigarette volume increased 30%, boosted by the addition of the Newport brand, while industry cigarette volume declined 2.2%. For the full-year, the company now expects adjusted EPS of $1.94 to $2.00, compared with the FactSet consensus of $1.99. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has soared 54% year to date, while the S&P 500 has ticked up 0.6%.