Murray S. Kessler, recently-appointed President and CEO of Lorillard, said that they have been delighted to present the Third Quarter report which demonstrated that Lorillard and its key brand, Newport showed an outstanding performance during that period, dominating the industry. The total portfolio of Lorillard brands has showed record market share for the three-month period

According to Lorillard report, its net profit for the quarter totaled $274 million, going up from $235 million, reported during the third quarter last year. Net sales grew to $1.57 during the three months to September of 2010, versus $1.42 billion reported for comparable period in 2009, a rise of 10.4%, caused by higher sales volume, lower expenses on promotional campaigns and higher product prices.

Lorillard, the third-biggest cigarettes maker across the United States reported its net profit increased by 16.6 percent to $274m, whereas revenue went up by 12.6 percent to $1.07 billion.

The company Chief Executive Officer stated that cigarette shipment volumes rose by 5.8 percent to total 10 billion cigarettes, resulting from gains of 2.9% at its flagship brand, Newport, top-seller in menthol segment, and a 30.9% growth in sales of discount brands like Maverick. Lorillard overall nationwide market share added 1 percentage point during the third quarter to reach 12.9%. In addition, Newport’s market share in the menthol category was up 0.9 points to 35.9%. The Newport brand cemented the leading position more than a decade ago, and is holding a ± 30% market share for 17 years, and this year this number has grown, in spite of multiple efforts by competitors to take a lead in this category.

Within 2010 Newport volume is rising, up 2.6% during nine months to September.

Many U.S. tobacco corporations are dealing with dropping shipments in a American market as the number of smokers are declining. Lorillard’s major competitors Altria Group and Reynolds American both reported drop in cigarette shipments compared to the same period in 2009. Altria, the parent company of the country’s largest cigarette maker - Philip Morris USA posted a drop in volume of 2.4 percent, while the second-largest tobacconist Reynolds American reported volume decline of 2.6 percent.

Lorillard, which spun off from Loews Corp. two years ago, is the oldest tobacco company in the United States. The company showed that it is consolidating its position in tobacco industry. Its one-product focus (Newport represents 94% of earnings) and strong growth make Lorillard an excellent target. So there are plenty of companies willing to buy it, with Reynolds topping the list, and such giants as Japan Tobacco, Philip Morris and Imperial Tobacco are also in the list.

In addition, the company announced the launch of non-menthol style of its key brand, Newport. The regular Newport is a premium brand which provides high quality and inimitable tobacco taste, according to the company’s adverts.

Lorillard is also considering a return to the smokeless tobacco market in the nearest future, after discontinuing Triumph snus earlier this year.

By Steve Shepherd, Staff Writer. Copyright © 2010 Cigarette-Store.org. All rights reserved.