U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company has been in operation since 1822 and is the world’s leading producer and marketer of moist smokeless tobacco.
USSTC is focused on responsibly manufacturing and marketing its brands to adult tobacco consumers in a financially disciplined way, and providing marketing services to Philip Morris USA for its smokeless products. In the fourth quarter of 2009, the company's total retail share was 54.6 percent (includes PM USA smokeless tobacco products).
Smokeless tobacco category volume grew at an annual rate of approximately 7 percent in 2008 and 2009. It is the second largest tobacco category with about $4.5 billion in retail sales and an estimated manufacturers' profit pool of about $1 billion in 2009.
Our moist smokeless tobacco product portfolio is led by
Copenhagen. In 2009, it was the number one premium moist smokeless tobacco brand in the United States, and
Skoal, USSTC’s other leading brand, was the number two premium brand.
Copenhagen and
Skoal achieved 24.6 percent and 23.3 percent retail share respectively in the fourth quarter of 2009.
In 2009, USSTC had six of the top 10 SKUs in the smokeless tobacco category. Our other brands include
Red Seal and
Husky.
USSTC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of
Altria Group, Inc., a Virginia corporation whose common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker symbol MO). USSTC provides Altria Group with value over the long-term by focusing on Altria Group's four goals to:
- Invest in Leadership
- Align with Society
- Satisfy Adult Consumers
- Create Substantial Value for Shareholders
Beginning in the first quarter of 2009, Altria's reporting segments are Cigarettes, manufactured by Philip Morris USA Smokeless Products, manufactured by USSTC and PM USA; Cigars, manufactured by John Middleton Co.; Wine, produced by St. Michelle Wine Estates; and Financial Services, provided by Philip Morris Capital Corporation. Please view
Altria's quarterly earnings release for current financial information.
