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Ahead of the Bell: Lorillard at Morgan Stanley 

Executives of cigarette maker Lorillard Inc. are scheduled to speak to investors Tuesday at the Morgan Stanley Global Consumer & Retail Conference.

Chief Executive Martin L. Orlowsky and Chief Financial Officer David H. Taylor are scheduled to speak at 10:30 a.m. EST. Greensboro, N.C.-based Lorillard sells Newport, Kent and Old Gold cigarettes.

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Daschle's Lobbyist Wife Might Complicate New Post 

President-elect Barack Obama has chosen Daschle, a South Dakota Democrat to fill the cabinet post, and that of "health czar." The 59-year-old Daschle, according to sources speaking to The Washington Post's Ceci Connolly and Chris Cillizza, is expected to take the jobs.

Daschle's new position might be complicated by his wife, Linda Hall Daschle, who is a registered lobbyist with the Washington firm of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz. . . .

She was one of a few Baker Donelson lobbyists on accounts for the pharmaceutical company Amgen Inc. and cigarette makers Lorillard Tobacco and Philip Morris Cos. in 1999.

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Lorillard, Inc. Announces Quarterly Dividend on Common Stock 

Lorillard, Inc. (NYSE: LO) announced today the declaration of a quarterly dividend on its common stock, in the amount of $0.92 per share, payable December 12, 2008 to stockholders of record as of December 2, 2008.

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Lorillard to Participate in Morgan Stanley's Global Consumer & Retail Conference on Tuesday, November 18, 2008 

Lorillard Inc., (NYSE: LO), the third largest manufacturer of cigarettes in the United States, today announced that Martin L. Orlowsky, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, and David H. Taylor, Chief Financial Officer, will participate in the Morgan Stanley Global Consumer & Retail Conference at the Crowne Plaza Times Square in New York City on Tuesday, November 18, 2008 at 10:30 A.M. Eastern.

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Lorillard to Participate in Morgan Stanley's Global Consumer & Retail Conference on Tuesday, November 18, 2008 

Lorillard Inc., (NYSE: LO), the third largest manufacturer of cigarettes in the United States, today announced that Martin L. Orlowsky, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, and David H. Taylor, Chief Financial Officer, will participate in the Morgan Stanley Global Consumer & Retail Conference at the Crowne Plaza Times Square in New York City on Tuesday, November 18, 2008 at 10:30 A.M. Eastern.

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Lorillard, Inc. Elects New Board Member 

Lorillard, Inc. (NYSE: LO) today announced the election of Robert C. Almon to its Board of Directors, effective immediately. The Board now comprises eight members, of which six are non-executive independent Directors. Mr. Almon will serve on the Company's Audit and Compensation Committees.

"We are delighted that Bob has joined our Board. He has extensive consulting and advisory experience in the financial services sector and will complement the Board's range of talents," said Martin Orlowsky, Chairman, President and CEO, Lorillard, Inc.

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Lorillard elects new board member  

Robert C. Almon has been elected to the board of directors at Greensboro tobacco company Lorillard Inc

Lorillard's board now comprises eight members.

Almon, 57, is a retired principal of Ernst & Young

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Lorillard, Inc. Reports Third Quarter 2008 Results 

Highlights

-- Net sales increased 7.8% to $1.125 billion for the third quarter of 2008, compared to $1.044 billion in the third quarter of 2007.

-- Operating income increased 9.8% to $382 million, or 34.0% of sales.

-- The company reported net income of $237 million or $1.38 per share.

-- The company repurchased approximately 3.9 million shares; paid a dividend of $0.92 per share.

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• Anti-Smoking Web Site Helps Parents Plug Into Prevention 

Is there a doctor in the house?

Yes, there is, thanks to the sponsorship of Lorillard Tobacco Company. Families throughout the country who'd love to have the help and advice of a real doctor when it comes to communicating an anti-smoking message to kids can now have electronic access to Dr. Michael Popkin, psychologist and founder of Active Parenting Publishers and author of video-based parenting education programs.

Parents can plug into two new educational audio podcasts, hosted by Dr. Popkin, on http://www.realparentsrealanswers.com . On the podcasts the doc gets personal with parents, answering their questions about everything from setting up expectations with children to dealing with rebellion to peer pressure. As the longtime spokesperson for Lorillard's Youth Smoking Prevention Program, Dr. Popkin understands that parents need feedback specific to their children's age group, peer group, and even family dynamic, and the Q&A format keeps the focus on exactly what parents want to know. . . .

Real Parents, Real Answers, Lorillard Tobacco Company's Youth Smoking Prevention Program, is a voluntary effort designed to enlist parents in the fight against underage smoking.

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Lorillard Q3 Profit Declines On Costs; Sales Up 7.8% 

Monday, cigarette manufacturer, Lorillard Inc. (LO: News ) reported that its third-quarter net income declined nearly 3%, despite higher sales, hurt by higher expenses related to manufacturing costs and legal expenses.

Lorillard, a spin-off of conglomerate Loews Corp. (L) began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in June 2008.

The company's net income for the quarter declined to $237 million or $1.38 per share from $244 million or $1.40 per share in the year-ago period. On average, 6 analysts, polled by FirstCall/Thomson Financial expected the company to earn $1.35 per share.

Lorillard blamed the higher expenses related to higher manufacturing costs, the State Settlement Agreements, higher legal expenses, lower investment income and a higher effective tax rate for the decline in net income.

Driven by higher average unit prices and higher net unit sales volume, quarterly net sales increased 7.8% to $1.125 billion

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Lorillard, Inc. Q3 2008 Earnings Call Transcript  

Marty Orlowsky

Thank you, Nathan. Good morning everyone. I'm pleased to report that Lorillard's financial and marketplace performance for the third quarter of 2008 as compared with the same quarter a year ago reflects positive results. Before David Taylor, our CFO reviews our financial performance; I would like to briefly provide an overview of our shipment and share results.

Total Lorillard wholesale shipments for the third quarter of '08 were up 4.5% versus the third quarter of '07. Lorillard's domestic wholesale unit shipped during the third quarter of 2008 reflected increases in both the number of units shipped and market share when compared with the same quarter of last year, an absolute increase of 4.5% to shipped, and a share increase of 0.82 points. . . .

We are still basing our outlook on legal expenses as we've articulated it in the past calls. The legal expense is purely subject to the level of activity that revolves around the Engle progeny cases. It will depend on the number of cases that will go to trial over time and or the activities in support of those cases.

So we can expect that there will be short of something major occurring that will sort of inhibit that kind of growth in terms of the individual trial. We should be continuing to experience increases in that area, but again totally predicated on the number of cases that will evolve over time.

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UPDATE 2-Lorillard posts better-than-expected profit  

Lorillard Inc, the No. 3 U.S. cigarette maker, posted better-than-expected quarterly profit on Monday due to higher prices and market share gains.

Rivals Philip Morris International Inc , Reynolds American Inc and Altria Group Inc last week also posted stronger-than-projected profits.

Cigarettes are viewed as relatively recession-resistant because of the addictive nature of the product and the strong brand loyalty of customers.

However, some cigarette makers have warned of profit pressures due to the strengthening U.S. dollar. The industry could also face increased excise taxes on cigarettes after the November U.S. presidential election

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• Altria Shipments May Be Headed to Lowest in 30 Years (Update1)  

Altria Group Inc.'s cigarette shipments may be headed to their lowest level in 30 years as higher prices and rising unemployment crimp demand.

Altria, the maker of top-selling Marlboro, may report Oct. 23 its third-quarter deliveries to distributors slid 5 percent to 45 billion cigarettes, while No. 2 Reynolds American Inc. may say tomorrow that volume sank 8.3 percent, according to Adam Spielman, a Citigroup Inc. analyst in London.

The slumping U.S. economy, sinking stock prices and last month's record drop in consumer confidence is testing cigarette makers' strategy of raising prices to counter lower demand. Altria and Newport maker Lorillard Inc. started charging more in May, spurring Reynolds to trim discounts on its Camel and Kool brands.

``Smokers have their limits, so for every dollar that you raise prices, you're going to lose volume,''

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Lorillard to Release Third Quarter 2008 Results on Monday, October 27, 2008 

A conference call for analysts and investors will begin at 10:00 am Eastern Time on October 27, 2008 which will be hosted by Martin L. Orlowsky, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, and David H. Taylor, Executive Vice President, Finance and Planning and Chief Financial Officer. Investors can participate in the conference call by dialing (888) 713-4209 (domestic) or (617) 213-4863 (international). The passcode for this event is: 48507488.

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• $175 million write-down reflects status of Kool 

Reynolds American Inc. said yesterday that it is taking its largest write-down on a trademark in years with a noncash charge of $175 million related to its Kool cigarette brand.

The charge was taken in the third quarter, Reynolds said. It will release its third-quarter earnings report Oct. 22.

The charge is part of Reynolds' strategy, announced on Sept. 9, to move Kool from a growth brand to a support brand and put most of its marketing emphasis on Camel.

Reynolds said that the decision to de-emphasize Kool "triggered an analysis of the trademark value," as required by corporate accounting rules. . . .

Reynolds also has cumulatively written down the value of Doral by $203 million since 2004, as well as Winston by $186 million, Salem by $111 million, and a variety of Conwood brands by $32 million.

Kool has not contributed to revenue or earnings growth for some time, said Peter Tourtellot, the managing director of Anderson Bauman Tourtellot Vos & Co., a turnaround-management company in Greensboro. . . .

Analysts have speculated for a month that Reynolds may be de-emphasizing Kool as part of preparing a bid for Lorillard Tobacco Co. of Greensboro to buy Lorillard's top-selling Newport menthol brand.

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