Corporate Governance and Board Developments

The 2006 proxy statement contains a comprehensive description of your Board of Directors and its committees, as well as the nominees for election to the Board at the 2006 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. I urge you to read the full statement and return your proxy card as soon as possible with your vote.

I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to Carlos Slim Helú, who will not be standing for re-election to the Board of Directors in April 2006. Since joining the Board in 1997, he has made many invaluable contributions to Altria, as we examined strategic opportunities and planned our future course. We will sorely miss his tremendous insight and acumen, particularly in the realm of international business, and thank him for his service as a Director.

Our operating companies and corporate departments are governed by a strong, comprehensive set of explicit, enterprise-wide standards that make it clear that nothing is more important than compliance and integrity. I suggest that you review the Responsibility section of this report, as well as our corporate website, for additional information on these topics.

Outlook

Looking ahead, we expect the considerable momentum evident in our 2005 results to continue. However, the current strength of the U.S. dollar and circumstances affecting some of PMI’s key markets, most notably Spain, dictate a cautious earnings outlook at this point. In addition, Kraft’s restructuring costs and the inclusion of an extra week of results at Kraft in 2005 will make for difficult comparisons.

Despite these short-term challenges, I am confident that strategic actions by our individual businesses and continued improvement in the litigation and legislative environment will move us toward our long-term goals.

Overall, I believe that Altria Group is well positioned and equipped to seize the opportunities that will arise, and to overcome the inevitable challenges that we will confront. Most importantly, all our operating companies are investing in innovation, and each has an impressive pipeline of new products to drive future growth.

Of course, none of our achievements would have been possible without the personal commitment, passion, resilience and determination of our employees. I salute and thank them, along with our shareholders, for their continued support.