Altria Group

Infobox_Company
company_name = Altria Group, Inc
company_
company_type = Public (NYSE|MO)
company_slogan =
foundation = flagicon|USA 1985 Virginia, USA
founder = Philip Morris
location = flagicon|U.S. Henrico County, Virginia
key_people = Michael E. Szymanczyk
(Chairman) & (CEO)
num_employees = 84,000 ("2007")
industry = Tobacco
products = See below
market c
US$ 41 Billion ("2008")cite web |url=http://zenobank.com/index.php?symbol=MO&page=quotesearch |title=Company Profile for Altria Group Inc (MO) |accessdate=2008-10-01]
revenue = loss US$ 38.05 billion ("2007") [http://www.altria.com/investors/02_00_NewsDetail.asp?reqid=956412]
operating_income = loss US$ 13.235 Billion ("2007")
net_income = loss US$ 9.786 Billion ("2007") [http://www.altria.com/investors/02_00_NewsDetail.asp?reqid=956412]
assets = decrease US$ 57.211 Billion ("2007")
equity = decrease US$ 18.554 Billion ("2007")
homepage = [http://www.altria.com/ www.altria.com]

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE|MO) (previously named Philip Morris Companies Inc.), based in Henrico County, Virginia, is the parent company of Philip Morris USA, John Middleton, Inc. and Philip Morris Capital Corporation, and is one of the world's largest tobacco corporations. In addition, Altria Group, Inc. has a 28.7% economic and voting interest in one of the world's largest brewing companies, UK based SABMiller plc. It is a component of the S&P 500 and was a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average until February 19, 2008.

On January 27, 2003, Philip Morris Companies Inc. changed its name to Altria Group, Inc. On March 30, 2007, a spin out of Kraft Foods subsidiary (publicly traded since 2001) was concluded through distribution of the remaining stake of shares (88.1%) to Altria shareholders. As a result, Altria no longer holds any interest in Kraft Foods. On March 28, 2008 a similar spin out of Philip Morris International was completed with 100% of shares being distributed to Altria shareholders.

Altria is acquiring snuff competitor U.S. Tobacco.

Holdings

Altria Group, Inc. owns 100 percent of Philip Morris USA, John Middleton, Inc. and Philip Morris Capital Corporation. It also owns 28.7% of SABMiller PLC.

cigarettes, before the recent restructuring, the net revenue (and operating income) of Altria Group, Inc. came predominantly from its tobacco business, as is shown in the following table. Altria's share of SABMiller's revenue and profits is not included in the table below because its holding is too small to be consolidated in the group accounts. [ [http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/764180/000119312507044345/dex13.htm US Securities and Exchange Commission, "Altria Group, Inc. Annual report 2006"] ]

Philip Morris component

Altria's tobacco subsidiary, Philip Morris, is the world's largest commercial tobacco company by sales. Fact|date=June 2008 Their flagship Marlboro is the world's most popular tobacco brand. Fact|date=June 2008 Other] tobacco brands owned by Philip Morris are Parliament, Virginia Slims, and Benson & Hedges (licensed in some markets).

Philip Morris was founded by a London tobacconist of the same name. He was one of the first people to sell hand-rolled cigarettes in the 1860sFact|date=July 2008, selling them under the brand names Oxford and Cambridge Blues, following the adoption of cigarette smoking by British soldiers returning from the Crimean War. The company opened its New York office in 1902 and soon became part of James Duke's American Tobacco Company monopoly.

In 2004 its Philip Morris USA division moved of its 682 New York based employees to Richmond, VirginiaFact|date=July 2008.

History

*1847: Philip Morris opens a shop in London, selling tobacco and ready-made cigarettes.
*1881: Philip Morris goes public in London.
*1887: The company becomes Philip Morris & Co., Ltd.
*1902: Philip Morris & Co. Ltd. is incorporated in New York.
*1919: Acquisition of Philip Morris & Co. in the US by a new firm owned by American stockholders and incorporation in Virginia under the name of Philip Morris & Co., Ltd., Inc.
*1924: Introduction of the Marlboro brand
*1951: Philip Morris becomes the highly visible sponsor of CBS's "I Love Lucy" TV Show.
*1954: The first major affiliate outside the USA is created: Philip Morris (Australia) Ltd.
*1955: Philip Morris & Co. Ltd., Inc. changes its name to Philip Morris Incorporated.
*1955: Philip Morris Overseas is established as an international division within Philip Morris (to be renamed Philip Morris International in 1967).
*1963: Philip Morris acquires its first factory in Europe, Switzerland's Fabriques de Tabac Réunies (FTR).
*1967: Philip Morris reorganizes to create three internal operating divisions within Philip Morris Incorporated: Philip Morris Domestic, Philip Morris International and Philip Morris Industrial.
*1968: Philip Morris Domestic changes its name to Philip Morris USA.
*1969: Philip Morris Inc. acquires Miller Brewing Company from W.R. Grace and Company
*1970: Philip Morris GmbH set up as an affiliate in Germany.
*1985: Philip Morris Companies, a holding company, becomes the publicly-held parent of Philip Morris Incorporated.
*1987: Philip Morris International, newly incorporated operating company, acquires the international business division of Philip Morris, Inc.
*1988: Philip Morris Companies Inc. acquires Kraft Foods.
*2000: Philip Morris Companies Inc. merges Nabisco, a spin-off from RJR Nabisco, into Kraft Foods.
*2001: Philip Morris International headquarters are relocated from the USA to Lausanne, Switzerland.
*2002: Philip Morris Companies Inc. sells Miller Brewing Company to South African Breweries, retaining a 36% share.
*2003: Philip Morris Companies Inc. changes its name to Altria Group, Inc., the parent company of Kraft Foods, Philip Morris USA, Philip Morris International and Philip Morris Capital Corporation.
*2007: The company announces the spin-off of Kraft Foods, and will concentrate on its tobacco activity [ [http://uk.reuters.com/article/wtMostRead/idUSN1235174320070312 Altria "when-issued" shares set to trade] ]
*2007: The company announces the plan to phase out production and eliminate all jobs at the Concord, North Carolina plant, ultimately shutting the plant down by 2010. [ [http://sanantonio.bizjournals.com/triad/stories/2007/06/25/daily11.html?page=3 Philip Morris to close Concord plant, "Charlote Business Journal"] ]
*2007: Altria announces the planned spin-off of Philip Morris International
*2008: Altria spins-off Philip Morris International to shareholders.
*2008: Altria moves its headquarters from New York City to Richmond, Virginia [ [http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2008-03-31-0113.html Altria moves headquarters from N.Y. to Va. today] , Richmond Times-Dispatch, March 31, 2008] .

Controversy

"Philip Morris documents show the majority of the company's internal reports regarding PO-210 (Polonium) were not published. One manuscript believed by some Philip Morris scientists to be favourable to the tobacco industry was withheld from publication for fear of heightening public awareness of PO-210." [http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-wellbeing/health-news/tobacco-firms-kept-quiet-on--polonium-role-in-cigarettes-907194.html]

Tobacco

Philip Morris USA brands:
* Alpine
* Basic
* Best
* Bristol
* Bucks
* Cambridge
* Chesterfield
* Classic
* Collector's Choice
* Commander
* Drina
* English Ovals
* F6
* Lark
* Long Beach
* L&M
* Marlboro
* Merit
* Morava
* Next
* Parliament
* Philip Morris
* Players
* Saratoga
* Sampoerna (a brand of Indonesian kreteks)
* Virginia Slims

Corporate governance

Board of directors

Current members of the board of directors of Altria Group are:
*Elizabeth Bailey
*Harold Brown (former U.S. Secretary of Defense)
*Mathis Cabiallavetta
*Louis C. Camilleri
*Dudley Fishburn
*Robert Huntley
*Thomas W. Jones
*George Muñoz
*Lucio Noto
*John S. Reed
*Stephen Wolf

Political influence

According to the Center for Public Integrity, Altria spent around $101 million on lobbying the United States government between 1998 and 2004, making it the second most active organization in the nation. [ [http://www.publicintegrity.org/lobby/profile.aspx?act=clients&year=2003&cl=L000203 The Center for Public Integrity: Altria Group, Inc.] ] [ [http://www.publicintegrity.org/lobby/top.aspx?act=topcompanies The Center for Public Integrity: Top 100 Companies and Organizations] ]

ee also

*Tobacco industry
*Philip Morris USA
*Master Settlement Agreement

External links

* [http://www.altria.com Official site]
* [http://www.philipmorrisinternational.com/PMINTL/pages/eng/ourbus/Our_history.asp Philip Morris history]
* [http://www.cogmap.com/chart/altria-group,-inc. Altria Organization Chart]

References