Lorillard Inc. Q4 Profits Dip, EPS Remains Flat; Misses Estimates (LO)

Shares of Lorillard Inc. (LO) dipped on Wednesday morning after the company reported earnings below analysts’ estimates. 

LO’s Earnings in Brief 

LO posted Q4 earnings of $293 million, down from $309 million a year ago. On a per share basis, earnings remained flat at 80 cents due to less shares outstanding in the most recent quarter. Excluding special items, earnings were 82 cents per share, up from 79 cents per share last year. On average, analysts expected LO to report earnings of 86 cents per share. Sales for the quarter rose to $1.74 billion from $1.70 billion in the same quarter last year. Analysts expected to see sales of $1.31 billion.

CEO Commentary

LO’s chairman, president, and CEO, Murray S. Kessler, said in a statement: ”Lorillard delivered industry leading double digit EPS growth and its eleventh consecutive year of market share growth in 2013 while the Company concurrently made investments in electronic cigarettes, new cigarette products, and made process changes to smooth wholesale inventory fluctuations in the fourth quarter. These investments, combined with the remarkable strength and loyalty of the core Newport brand, give us confidence in our ability to deliver on our stated goal of a double digit total shareholder return as measured by EPS growth and the dividend yield once again in 2014 and for many years to come.”

LO’s Dividend

LO did not mention its next quarterly dividend, but we expect the company to make a dividend announcement sometime in February. The company made its last dividend payment of 55 cents on December 10.

Stock Performance 

Lorillard shares were down 94 cents, or 1.88%, during pre-market trading Wednesday. The stock is down 1.44% YTD.