RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Altria Group (MO) on Thursday reported first-quarter profit of $1.42 billion.

On a per-share basis, the Richmond, Virginia-based company said it had net income of 77 cents. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, came to $1.07 per share.

The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.04 per share.

The owner of Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest cigarette maker posted revenue of $6.04 billion in the period. Its adjusted revenue was $4.88 billion, which missed Street forecasts. Four analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $4.99 billion.

Altria expects full-year earnings in the range of $4.49 to $4.62 per share.

Altria shares have climbed 15% since the beginning of the year, while the S&P's 500 index has climbed 11%. The stock has increased 16% in the last 12 months.

This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on MO at https://www.zacks.com/ap/MO

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