Philip Morris USA to raise prices by 8 cents/pack on most cigarette brands.

May 7, 2010 - Altria Group Inc.'s Philip Morris USA (PM USA) division is raising prices for Marlboro and most of its other cigarette brands by 8 cents a pack.

The price increase will be effective Monday, May 10th a spokesman said. The list price for Marlboro, or the price the company sells the cigarettes to its wholesalers for, will go up to $3.70 a pack from $3.62 a pack.

Cigarette companies in the U.S. have raised prices fairly steadily in recent years. The higher prices have helped shore up profits at a time when volumes have been under pressure as Americans smoke fewer cigarettes. Bans on smoking in public places and higher taxes have contributed to a decline in cigarette volumes.

Stifel Nicolaus analyst Chris Growe said the latest price increase from Altria was higher than he had expected.
(Above entire article from the Wall Street Journal..)

Highlights - Altria Group, q1 2010 earnings conference call..

Reference: Altria Raising Cigarette Prices By 8c A Pack by Anjali Cordeiro (anjali.cordeiro@dowjones.com), Dow Jones Newswires; 5/6/2010.