Altria(US:MO)2025-01-30 12:03Financial Performance - Altria reported Q4 2024 net revenues of $5,974 million, unchanged from Q4 2023, and full-year 2024 net revenues of $24,018 million, a decrease of 1.9% compared to 2023[2]. - Adjusted diluted EPS for Q4 2024 was $1.29, an increase of 9.3%, while full-year adjusted diluted EPS was $5.12, up 3.4% from 2023[2][25]. - Net revenues were essentially unchanged at $6.0 billion, with revenues net of excise taxes increasing 1.6% to $5.1 billion[5]. - Reported diluted EPS increased 54.3% to $1.79, driven by favorable income tax items and fewer shares outstanding[5]. - For the full-year 2024, net pre-tax income of $2.5 billion (or $1.08 per share) was recorded from acquisition-related items, mainly from a pre-tax gain of $2.7 billion on the assignment of IQOS commercialization rights[29]. - Net revenues for Q4 2024 were $5,974 million, a slight decrease of 0.02% compared to $5,975 million in Q4 2023[77]. - Net earnings for Q4 2024 rose significantly by 47.5% to $3,039 million, compared to $2,060 million in Q4 2023[77]. - For the full year 2024, net revenues were $24,018 million, a decrease of 1.9% from $24,483 million in 2023[81]. - Net earnings for the full year 2024 increased by 38.5% to $11,264 million, compared to $8,130 million in 2023[81]. - Diluted earnings per share for the full year 2024 rose by 43.1% to $6.54, up from $4.57 in 2023[81]. Share Repurchase and Debt Management - Altria completed a $3.4 billion share repurchase program in 2024, repurchasing 73.5 million shares at an average price of $46.26[9]. - The company announced a new $1 billion share repurchase program expected to be completed by December 31, 2025[9]. - The company aims to achieve a debt-to-Consolidated EBITDA ratio of approximately 2.0x, with a current ratio of 2.1x[12]. - Total debt as of December 31, 2024, was $24,926 million, down from $26,233 million in 2023[97]. - Consolidated EBITDA for 2024 was $12,157 million, with a total debt to consolidated EBITDA ratio of 2.1[102]. Product Performance and Market Trends - NJOY consumables reported shipment volume increased by 15.3% in Q4 2024 to 12.8 million units, while devices saw a 22.2% increase to 1.1 million units[9]. - Total U.S. smoke-free net revenues in 2024 were $2.8 billion, with innovative smoke-free products contributing $0.3 billion[12]. - Domestic cigarette shipment volume decreased 10.2% for the full year, primarily due to the industry's decline rate and retail share losses[51]. - Marlboro's retail share of the total cigarette category was 41.3%, a decrease of 1.0 percentage point compared to the prior year[52]. - The oral tobacco products segment's retail share decreased to 36.8% in Q4 2024, down from 39.9% in Q4 2023[65]. - The total U.S. oral tobacco category share for on! nicotine pouches increased to 8.9% in Q4 2024, up by 2.0 percentage points year-over-year[65]. - The U.S. nicotine pouch category grew to 45.7% of the U.S. oral tobacco category, an increase of 9.6 percentage points compared to the previous year[65]. Operating Income and Costs - Altria's total reported OCI margin for 2024 was 58.0%, while the total adjusted OCI margin was 60.3%[12]. - Operating companies income for Q4 2024 was $2,968 million, a 1.3% increase from $2,929 million in Q4 2023[77]. - The company reported a significant increase in marketing, administration, and research costs, which rose to $601 million in Q4 2024 from $570 million in Q4 2023[77]. - Operating companies income for 2024 was $11,856 million, down 3.8% from $12,318 million in 2023[83]. Tax and Impairment Items - Income tax items for the full-year 2024 amounted to $969 million (or $0.56 per share), primarily related to the reversal of an unrecognized tax benefit[37]. - For the full-year 2023, a non-cash, pre-tax loss of $250 million (or $0.14 per share) was recorded related to the disposition of JUUL equity securities[32]. - The company incurred asset impairment, exit, and implementation costs of $422 million in 2024[83]. - The company reported a loss on the sale of IQOS System commercialization rights amounting to $2,700 million[102]. Adjusted Earnings and Special Items - Adjusted net earnings for 2024 were $8,821 million, reflecting a slight decrease of 0.01% from $8,822 million in 2023[95]. - Acquisition, disposition, and integration-related items negatively impacted EPS by $1.08 in 2024[106]. - Income tax items reduced EPS by $0.56 in 2024 compared to a reduction of $0.40 in 2022[106]. - JUUL changes in fair value contributed $0.81 to EPS in 2022, with no impact in 2024[106]. - Asset impairment, exit, and implementation costs added $0.18 to EPS in 2024, with no prior impact[106].