Altria Group is reiterating its interest in growing its business in other tobacco categories as domestic cigarette sales continue to decline.

The company on Wednesday held its first shareholder meeting since the March spinoff of its international cigarette business.

Chief Executive Michael Szymanczyk (suh-MAN-sihk) discussed the state of the company at the meeting in Richmond, Virginia _ its new headquarters and the longtime base for its Philip Morris USA cigarette operation.

Szymanczyk said the company has made “remarkable progress” in its testing and marketing of its Marlboro-branded moist smokeless tobacco and spitless product called snus (snoose).

The company has said it will deal with fewer cigarette sales by capitalizing on its Marlboro brand and selling more smokeless products. It has projected that cigarette sales volume will fall between 2.5 percent to 3 percent in the U.S. over the next few years.