Tobacco Institute
1958 Annual Report Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company
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- 1. Liggett Myers Author
- Affiliation:
Liggett Myers
- Affiliation:
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1958 Operations
A SUMMARY OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR 1958
1958
1957
Net sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Earnings before taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Income and franchise taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Earnings before preferred dividends . . . . . . . . . .
Net earnings after preferred dividends . . . . . . . . .
Percentage of net sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net earnings per share of common stock . . . . . . . .
Dividends per share of common stock . . . . . . . . . $556,045,710
67, 912, 008
36,689,000
31,223,008
29,761,821
_ 5.35°0
$7.60
$5.00 $570,384,860
61,894,607
33,621,000
28,273,607
26,812,420
4.70%
$6.85
$5.00
Current assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $369,974,311 $416,457,954
Current liabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36, 920, 586 89,040,853
Ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.0 to 1 4.7 to 1
Funded debt . . . : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90, 000, 000 95,750,000
Capital stock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118, 820,150 118,693,125
Additional paid-in capital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19, 632, 691 19, 417, 405
Retained earnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143, 729, 281 133,538,415
Approximate number of stockholders . . . . . . . . . . .l
I-
46, 800
46,600
~
Annual Stockliolders' Meeting
The Annual Stockholders' Meeting will be held at 91 Sip Avenue,
Jersey City, New Jersey, at 2:30 P.M., Tuesday, March 31, 1959.
Proxies will be mailed to stockholders February 27, 1959.
Stockholders who are unable to attend the meeting are urged to
sign their proxies and return them promptly to the Company so
that the stock of the Company will be represented as fully as
possible at the meeting.
Abotd Stockholders
Today your Company is owned by about 46,800 stock-
holders. Holdings range from a few shares in the hands of
thousands ofstockholders to many hundreds of shares owned
by in%estmrnt groups, educational institutions, insurance
companirs, trusts, estates and banks. About 79°~'0 of the total
Common and Preferred Stock was voted by person or proxy
at the last annual stockholders' meeting, March 25, 1958.
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0i Factories and plants of Liggett & M}ers
* Countries where Liggett & Myers firoducts are sold.
Your Company today
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This report gives a picture of the Company today -a worldwide organization with
hundreds of millions of dollars in assets producing billions of cigarettes for distribution
and sale in America and over 105 foreign countries. Behind every cigarette your Company
makes is quality of tobacco product and integrity of manufacture. The billions of
cigarettes produced this year continued to measure up to our standard of giving the public
the very best products of their kind. The following pages summarize how this is done.
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Employees
Many of our employees have started and grown up with the Company-their
average length of service is well over 10 years. Their life work is the Liggett &
Myers tobacco business. Here friendships are made and continue both on and
off the job. The turnover of our employees is minor, for nowhere in the tobacco
industry is there a more comprehensive benefit, health and retirement program.
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To the Stockholders
A comprehensive, illustrated story of your Company's extensive operations during 1958,
together with audited financial statements comparing 1958 results with those of 1957, are presented
in this 48th Annual Report of Liggett &
Myers Tobacco Company.
Net earnings compared to 1957 were up 10% to $31,223,008, the highest in the Company's
history. Earnings per share of common stock increased from $6.85 last year to $7.60, the highest
for any year for the number of shares now outstanding.
Net sales declined 2%% to $556,045,710. For the final quarter they were $144,062,495, up
6% over the final quarter of 1957. Fourth quarter net earnings of 88.637,586, equal to $2.11 per
share of common stock, were 21% higher than the same period in 1957.
There were increased economies and more efficient operation in all departments of the
Company. For example, the Turkish Leaf Department was moved from Staten Island, N. Y.,
where rent and labor costs have increased from year to year, to our leaf handling plant in Durham,
N. C., where ample storage space was made available. Turkish leaf is now handled more efficiently
because of its proximity to the blending department and cigarette factories.
For part of the year, the Company benefited from the higher selling price of Chesterfield
cigarettes. Earnings were also helped by increased sales of smoking tobaccos and miscellaneous
brands.
There was a substantial saving in interest costs resulting from lower bank interest rates in
effect during the year, and from continued reduction in notes payable to banks from $53,310,000
at the end of 1957 to $3,000,000 at the end of 1958, the lowest since 1940. There was also a further
reduction in funded debt this year from $95,750,000 to $90,000,000.
Looking ahead, the sales trend is up for our leading cigarette brands and for our principal
brands of smoking tobacco. The only significant capital expenditure planned for 1959 is an addition
to the Company's modern Research Laboratories in Durham, N. C.;'at a cost of approximately
$1,000,000. No other capital expenditures of consequence appear necessary or likely in the foresee-
able future. The Company's major plant facilities, as well as machinery and equipment, are either
new or have been extensively modernized in recent years.
Management commends the employees for their dedication and industry, and sincerely appre-
ciates the continuing loyal support of stockholders.
Respectfully,
February 2, 1959
President
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FILTER CIGARETTES
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T H
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F 1 L T E R S
HE TE~fIELD
CHESTERFIEtD

Chesterfield's "Steve Canyon," introduced
in the fall of 1958, is one of the great new
television shows. Produced with the cooperation
of the U. S. Air Force, it brings the highly
acclaimed Chesterfield "A1en of America"
promotion to life on the TV screen.
"Alen of .-lmerica" commercials are the
successful result of nationwide
consumer research studies.
L&.LI's "Gunsmoke" on Saturday nights,
is the No. 1 television show in the cotvitry.
No other program reached as mary people
in 1958. Yust introduced on 1'oirr TI'screen
are "Black Saddle" advertising Oasis and
"The D..-l.'s .llan" advertising Chesterfield.
See your local television listings
for day and time.
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.Earnings
30
Net earnings for the year were $31,223,008, the
highest in the history of the Company. They 28
amounted to $7.60 per share of common stock
compared with $6.85 per share in 1957. The 26
ratio of net earnings after preferred dividends to
net sales increased from 4.70% in 1957 to 5.35% 24
in 1958.
22
The net earnings for the past seven years are
shown on this graph. 20
Sales
Net sales for 1958 were $556,045,710, represent-
ing a decline of about 2.5% from those of the
previous year. All of this reduction took place in
the first half of the year. Thereafter the sales
trend turned upward, resulting in a very favora-
ble showing in the fourth quarter.
This chart gives you a record of net sales for
the past seven years.
Dividends
In 1958 four quarterly dividends of $1.00 each
per share of common stock were paid in addition
to an extra dividend of $1.00 per share which
was paid March 1. In line with the current
policy of the Company there was declared on
January 21, 1959 an extra dividend of $1.00 per
share, payable March 1, 1959.
The graph shows the amounts paid in dividends
on the common stock during the past seven years.
Taxes
The tax burden continued unabated during the
past year. For the year 1958 the Company found
it necessary to provide $36,689,000 for Federal
and State income and franchise taxes. Such
taxes alone were equivalent to $9.36 per share
of common stock.
This chart gives a graphic comparison of Federal
and State income and franchise taxes with net
earnings after taxes for the past seven years.
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1952
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1958

Factories
Air conditioning, superb lighting, excellent cafeterias and fully staffed infirma-
ries give our two cigarette factories a_ hi~h standard of efficiency, safety and
comfort second to none. A third factory at St. Louis, convenient to the burley
tobacco growing belt, manufactures pipe and chewing tobacco,_ All storage
and processing plants are strategically located for the most efficient and
economical operation. In the Near East we have Turkish tobacco processing
plants at Izmir and Samsun in Turkey, and Gavalla and Xanthi in Greece.
All are tvelcome to tour our factories and, to date,
over half a million people have accepted the invitation.

CiiESTERFtEtD
MAKING
MACHINE
Take the tour and you'll see
for joru-self the care used in the
mam fac hure and pac kaging of your
Companr's products.
Guides take you through everr
important step in the mamfacture of
a cigarette from start to finished
packaged product.
During 1958 some 60,t)t)t)
people learned about Li,a,;rlt c: .t(vers
first hand, touring the Durham
and Richmond factories.
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