Lorillard Q2 2008 Results..

August 4, 2008 - Q2 2008 was the first quarter for Lorillard, Inc. as an independent public company after its separation from Loews Corporation in June 10, 2008. Loews Corp posted a second-quarter profit of $4.96 billion on Monday, reflecting the split-off of its Lorillard Inc tobacco unit.

Total Lorillard wholesale shipment volume for the second quarter of 2008 of 9.667 billion units was down 0.2 of a percent compared with the second quarter of 2007. Domestic wholesale shipments were down 0.1 of a percent for the same period. Newport's domestic wholesale shipments declined 1.5% in the second quarter of 2008 compared to the second quarter of 2007, largely as the result of a substantial quantity of promotional units shipped in the second quarter of 2007 with no corresponding activity in the second quarter of 2008. According to Lorillard's proprietary retail shipment database, Newport continued to increase its retail market share during the second quarter of 2008 by .43 share points over the second quarter of 2007. See table below: Lorillard - Selected Domestic Retail Market Share Data..

Newport, gives Lorillard 94% of its revenue, 92% of its volumes, 34% share of all menthol cigarette sales in the US, as well as an overall domestic tobacco market share of 10%. The only other cigarette in Lorillard's stable that shows growth is the price/value (discount) brand Maverick.

Reference:
Lorillard, Inc. Reports Second Quarter 2008 Results, PR Newswire, 28/2008.