Reynolds American Q3 Profit Up, Matches View; Tightens Annual EPS View

(RTTNews) - Reynolds American, Inc. (RAI) posted higher third-quarter GAAP net income of $457 million, or $0.84 per share, versus last year's $420 million, or $0.74 per share. Excluding charges for Engle progeny lawsuits and other tobaccorelated litigation, and implementation costs, adjusted earnings per share stood at $0.86 in the recent period, up 8.9 percent from last year, benefiting from higher cigarette and moist-snuff pricing, and lower MSA expense. On average, 10 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings per share of $0.86 for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.

Net sales improved 0.9% year-over-year to $2.14 billion, from $2.12 billion. Seven analysts estimated revenues of $2.14 billion for the quarter.

For 2013, the firm tightened its adjusted EPS guidance to $3.17 - $3.27, from its previous outlook of $3.15 - $3.30, excluding the one-time benefit from the NPM Partial Settlement, implementation costs, and charges for Engle progeny lawsuits and other tobacco-related litigation. Analysts project earnings per share of $3.23 for the year.