煙草在線據《便利店新聞》報道編譯　　盡管有一些報道說，零售商的煙草利潤一直在穩步下滑，但奧馳亞集團董事會主席兼首席執行官馬丁·巴林頓在1月31日回應稱，公司計劃與經營商“保持良好的關系”，通過公司的MLP和萬寶路Flex計劃，給他們提供選擇。

　　巴林頓在公司于1月31日早上舉行的2012年第四季度業績發布會上說：“總體而言，我們的零售商會告訴你們，我們為它們做了非常好的工作。”

　　他還指出，卷煙是零售交易的巨大推動力量，即使在一些零售商擴大經營，進入到食品服務，以抵消據稱不斷下滑的卷煙利潤時，卷煙也仍將作為關于店內商品銷售的產品組合的重要一部分。

　　巴林頓著重談到了公司的大品牌萬寶路，他說，這個品牌“正在往正確的方向發展”。萬寶路在零售卷煙市場中所占的份額在第三季度達到了42.6%，比它在去年同期所占的市場份額增加了1%。

　　在電話會議期間，巴林頓還談到了煙草市場中發展最快的部分：電子卷煙。盡管一些業內人士預計奧馳亞集團會在1月31日宣布收購一家電子卷煙公司，但奧馳亞并沒有宣布這樣的消息。

　　不過，巴林頓說，電子卷煙是一個“我們都在仔細觀察的機會。它仍然是一種新現象”。

　　奧馳亞在最近的這個季度中取得的利潤為41.8億美元，相比之下，2011年第四季度的利潤為33.8億美元。最近這個季度取得的利潤稍稍超過了華爾街分析師們的估計。

　　奧馳亞公司說，主要由于標價提高，第四季度的可吸用煙草產品的凈收入增長了2.4%。與此同時，哥本哈根和斯庫爾品牌引領奧馳亞的無煙煙草業務在第四季度的凈收入取得7.2%的增長。

　　巴林頓說：“盡管外部環境的挑戰在持續，但由于我們的煙草經營公司繼續為取得長期成功而進行投資，它們的名優品牌仍然取得了業績良好的一年。”

US: Altria Says Marlboro Moving in the Right Direction

　　Despite several reports that tobacco margins have been steadily declining for retailers, Altria Group Inc. Chairman and CEO Martin Barrington responded today that the company aims to "maintain a terrific relationship" with operators and give them options through its MLP and Marlboro Flex programs.

　　"Overall, our retailers will tell you we do a pretty good job for them," Barrington said during the company's 2012 fourth-quarter earnings call this morning.

　　The chief executive noted that cigarettes are a big driver of retail traffic and will remain an important part of the mix regarding in-store merchandise sales, even as some retailers expand into foodservice to offset alleged declining cigarette margins.

　　Focusing on its marquee brand Marlboro, Barrington said the brand is "moving in the right direction." Marlboro's share of the retail cigarette market reached 42.6 percent in the fourth quarter, a 1-percent increase vs. the same period last year.

　　During the conference call, Barrington also addressed the fastest growing sector of the tobacco market: electronic cigarettes. Although some industry insiders expected Altria to announce an acquisition of an e-cigarette company as early as today, no such announcement was made.

　　However, Barrington said e-cigarettes are an "opportunity we're monitoring carefully. It's still a new phenomenon."

　　Altria earned $4.18 billion for its latest quarter, compared to a $3.38 billion profit during 2011's fourth quarter. This latest earnings figure slightly surpassed estimates put forth by Wall Street analysts.

　　Net revenues for smokeable products increased by 2.4 percent in the fourth quarter, primarily due to higher list prices, the company said. Meanwhile, the Copenhagen and Skoal brands led Altria's smokeless segment to report a 7.2-percent net revenue increase for the quarter.

　　"Despite a continuing, challenging external environment, our tobacco operating companies' premium brands had an excellent year as our companies continued investing in their long-term success," said Barrington. Enditem