Reynolds American - 2nd quarter 2008..

August 1, 2008 - Reynolds American Inc. (RAI), the nation's second-biggest tobacco maker, maker of Camel cigarettes and Grizzly smokeless tobacco, Wednesday, July 30, 2008 reported a 12% increase in second quarter profit driven by higher pricing and productivity at R.J. Reynolds and continued volume and pricing gains at Conwood, offsetting declines in domestic demand. Earnings and revenue exceeded Street expectation.

Segment wise, R.J. Reynolds' second-quarter operating profit of $523 million were up 5.4% from the year-ago quarter, and Conwood's second-quarter operating profit of $96 million was up 5.5% from the prior-year period (15 percent of overall operating profit). The company said that second-quarter growth on Conwood's flagship Grizzly brand accounted for almost half of the industry's total moist-snuff volume growth of 7.7% compared with the prior-year quarter.

Related news brief: Comparison U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Players: No. 1 UST and No. 2 Conwood..

Daniel Delen, president and chief executive officer of R.J. Reynolds said, "Our second-quarter profits and margins were up from the prior year due to higher pricing and continued productivity improvements, along with higher levels of undiscounted wholesale inventory." However, the company said the increase was more than offset by a second-quarter cigarette volume decline of 7.9%. More than 40% of that decline was due to lower volume from the company's non-support brands.

Reynolds American Q2 Profit Rises 12%, Tops Estimates; Backs FY08 Earnings Outlook, NASDAQ, 8/1/2008.

RAI Q1 2008 News Brief..