Cigarette maker Reynolds American earns fall nearly 11 pct; adj profit up 2 pct

Cigarette maker Reynolds American Inc. said its second-quarter profit fell almost 11 percent to $304 million, chiefly on charges related to a legal case. Excluding those charges, its earnings rose 2 percent as higher prices and smokeless tobacco gains offset cigarette volume declines.

FEWER CIGARETTES: The nation’s second-biggest tobacco company and maker of Camel, Pall Mall and Natural American Spirit cigarettes said it sold 4.4 percent fewer cigarettes than last year’s quarter.