Lorillard Q4 Adj. Profit Meets Estimates - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Cigarette maker Lorillard, Inc. (LO) said its fourth-quarter 2014 net income climbed to $327 million from $281 million last year. Reported earnings per share increased 19.7%, to $0.91 from $0.76 per share in the year-ago period.

Adjusted earnings for the latest fourth quarter were $334 million or $0.93 per share, compared with $300 million or $0.82 per share in the comparable quarter last year, due to the strong operating performance in the Cigarettes unit and the impact of share buybacks in prior quarters. On average, 8 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.93 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Net sales increased 1.4% to $1.77 billion from $1.74 billion in the prior year quarter, due to a 2.4% increase in net sales of cigarettes, partially offset by a decrease in net sales of electronic cigarettes. Analysts estimated revenues of $1.29 billion.