Altria (NYSE:MO) posted a fourth-quarter loss Thursday as it took a $4.1 billion impairment charge for its investment in e-cigarette company Juul.
The Richmond, Virginia-based cigarette maker said the charge was due largely to the increased number of legal cases pending against Juul and the expectation that the number will grow.
In its fourth-quarter, Altria posted a net loss of $1.81 billion, or $1.00 a share, compared with net income of $1.25 billion, or 66 cents a share, a year ago.
Excluding the impairment charge, Altria earned $1.02 per share, in line with Wall Street estimates.
Sales of $4.80 billion, however, fell short of analyst expectations of $4.88 billion.
Altria invested in Juul in December 2018, buying a 35% stake for $12.8 billion, as it looked for growth outside traditional cigarettes. Smoking rates have been declining.
Altria expects the U.S. cigarette industry volume to decline at an adjusted rate of 4% to 6% in 2020, the company said Thursday.
In all of 2019, Altria said it recorded $8.6 billion in non-cash pretax impairment charges tied to its investment in Juul, which brings the value of its stake in Juul to $4.2 billion as of Dec. 31, 2019.
Altria expects its adjusted earnings per share to be in the range of $4.39 to $4.51 in 2020, representing a growth rate of 4% to 7% from adjusted earnings of $4.22 per share in 2019.
Altria declined $1.70, or 3.4%, to $48.41
