UPDATE 1-Altria to keep wine business, SABMIller stake

* SABMiller helps balance sheet, earnings

* Sees some synergies with wine business

By Brad Dorfman

BOCA RATON, Fla., Feb 18 (Reuters) - Tobacco company Altria Group Inc (MO.N) will be staying in the alcoholic beverage business for the foreseeable future.

Top executives with the company, known more for its Marlboro cigarettes and Skoal smokeless tobacco, explained on Thursday why it makes sense to keep its 27.3 percent stake in brewer SABMiller (SAB.L).

It also said it planned to keep the Ste. Michelle Wine Estates business it acquired last year as part of its deal to buy smokeless tobacco maker UST Inc.

Some analysts have pushed Altria to sell of its SABMIller stake, since it is not part of the company's core tobacco business.

But CEO Michael Szymanczyk and CFO Dave Beran said that it made sense to keep the business because it is a strong asset to have on the balance sheet -- helping reduce Altria's borrowing costs -- and it also contributes to earnings.

Also, the tax hit the company would take from selling the stake would essentially offset any benefits, Szymanczyk said.

"We have concluded that retaining the SABMiller interest is the best course at this time as it significantly strengthens Altria's financial profile and balance sheet," Beran told analysts at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York meeting here.

As for Ste. Michelle, Altria said last year that it would take some time to understand the business before deciding whether to sell it or keep it.

Szymanczyk told reporters that the business is indeed a fit with Altria and that there could be some synergies between Altria's core business and the wine unit. He declined to say what those synergies were.

Altria shares were up 18 cents at 19.96 on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Brad Dorfman, editing by Dave Zimmerman)