Altria Group
Headquarters:
120 Park Ave.
New York, NY 10017
Employees: 40,000
CEO: Louis Camilleri
Stock Symbol: MO
Website:
http://www.altria.com
Company News
Philip
Morris Career Site
Altria Group, Inc. is the parent company
of Philip Morris USA, Philip Morris International and Philip
Morris Capital Corporation. Altria Group owns 100% of the
outstanding stock of Philip Morris USA, Philip Morris International
and Philip Morris Capital Corporation.
Philip Morris USA is the largest tobacco
company in the United States, with approximately half of the
U.S. cigarette market, including the Marlboro brand, Basic, Chesterfield,
Lark, L&M, Parliament and Virginia Slims. Philip Morris
International is a leading international tobacco company with
seven of the top 20 global cigarette brands. Philip Morris
Capital Corporation maintains a portfolio of leverages and direct
finance leases. In addition, Altria Group has a 28.6% economic
and voting interest in SABMiller, plc., the world's second-largest
brewer.
Philip Morris International sells and distributes
cigarettes in 160 countries around the world.
Philip Morris has a 50.6% of the U.S. retail
market for cigarettes led by Marlboro, the most popular brand
of cigarettes with a 41.0% market share in the U.S. Philip Morris
shipped 850 billion units in 2007 worldwide, up 2% from the previous
year. The company shipped 175.1 billion units in the U.S. down
4.7%.
The tobacco business is very profitable
but is also a huge potential liability for Altria with numerous
lawsuits filed against the company from individual smokers and
states.
Altria's net revenues for 2007 were $73.8
billion, and net earnings were $9.7 billion. The company said
it would spin off Philip Morris International as a separately
traded company. The company spun off Kraft Foods in 2007.
In February, Altria was removed from the
Dow Jones Industrial Average of 30 stocks.
History
Philip Morris, Esq., a tobacconist and
importer of fine cigars, opened a cigar shop on Bond Street in
London in 1847. Philip Morris made his first cigarette in 1854.
Morris died in 1873 and his brother Leopold and wife Margaret
took over the business. The Philip Morris Company went public
in London in 1881 and established a U.S. division in 1902.
With strong sales of tobacco, the company
began manufacturing its own cigarettes by purchasing a factory
in Richmond, VA in 1929.
In 1985, the Philip Morris companies acquired
General Foods for $5.6 billion. In 1988, it acquired Kraft Foods
for $12.9 billion, the largest non-oil acquisition in U.S. history.
The company would also acquire Nabisco holdings in 2000.
In 2002, shareholders voted to change the
name of the company to Altria Group. This new name became official
on January 27, 2003. The name Altria derives from the Latin word
"altus", meaning high. To the Altria family of
companies, it connotes an enterprise that aims for peak performance
and constant improvement.
It's widely believed that the company name
was changed from Philip Morris to deflect criticism and unpopularity
with investors over association with cigarettes. The company
denies this.
In 2007, Altria officially spun off Kraft
Foods as a separately-traded company.
Benefits
Philip Morris provides the following benefits:
- Health & welfare coverage such as
medical, dental, vision and prescription
- Retirement initiatives such as deferred profit sharing, healthcare
and life insurance
- Protection benefits such as disability, business travel and
survivor income
- Work-life programs such as Flexible spending, dependent care
and education refunds
- Perks such as local discounts, on-site fitness centers and
credit union membership
You can find info about benefits Philip
Morris here.
Updated February 20, 2008
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