RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Altria Group Inc.’s first-quarter profit dropped 15 percent as the Marlboro maker sold fewer cigarettes and its year-ago results benefited from lower expenses from a longstanding legal settlement.

The owner of the nation’s biggest cigarette maker, Philip Morris USA, said Thursday that its cigarette shipments fell 2.5 percent to 29 billion cigarettes during the quarter. Adjusting for trade inventory changes, cigarette volumes fell 3.5 percent, compared with the total industry decline of about 4 percent.