烟草在线据《便利店新闻》报道编译　　尽管有一些报道说，零售商的烟草利润一直在稳步下滑，但奥驰亚集团董事会主席兼首席执行官马丁·巴林顿在1月31日回应称，公司计划与经营商“保持良好的关系”，通过公司的MLP和万宝路Flex计划，给他们提供选择。

　　巴林顿在公司于1月31日早上举行的2012年第四季度业绩发布会上说：“总体而言，我们的零售商会告诉你们，我们为它们做了非常好的工作。”

　　他还指出，卷烟是零售交易的巨大推动力量，即使在一些零售商扩大经营，进入到食品服务，以抵消据称不断下滑的卷烟利润时，卷烟也仍将作为关于店内商品销售的产品组合的重要一部分。

　　巴林顿着重谈到了公司的大品牌万宝路，他说，这个品牌“正在往正确的方向发展”。万宝路在零售卷烟市场中所占的份额在第三季度达到了42.6%，比它在去年同期所占的市场份额增加了1%。

　　在电话会议期间，巴林顿还谈到了烟草市场中发展最快的部分：电子卷烟。尽管一些业内人士预计奥驰亚集团会在1月31日宣布收购一家电子卷烟公司，但奥驰亚并没有宣布这样的消息。

　　不过，巴林顿说，电子卷烟是一个“我们都在仔细观察的机会。它仍然是一种新现象”。

　　奥驰亚在最近的这个季度中取得的利润为41.8亿美元，相比之下，2011年第四季度的利润为33.8亿美元。最近这个季度取得的利润稍稍超过了华尔街分析师们的估计。

　　奥驰亚公司说，主要由于标价提高，第四季度的可吸用烟草产品的净收入增长了2.4%。与此同时，哥本哈根和斯库尔品牌引领奥驰亚的无烟烟草业务在第四季度的净收入取得7.2%的增长。

　　巴林顿说：“尽管外部环境的挑战在持续，但由于我们的烟草经营公司继续为取得长期成功而进行投资，它们的名优品牌仍然取得了业绩良好的一年。”

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