AMERICAN BRANDS <AMB> SEES HIGHER 1ST QTR NET American Brands Inc said it expects first quarter net earnings to exceed the record 118.7 mln dlrs or 1.05 dlrs a share it earned for the year-ago quarter. The company also said it believes sales in the first quarter will surpass record sales of 2.1 billion dlrs last year. The company said unit sales of American Tobacco's Lucky Strike Filter line rose 20 pct last year, which led to a gain for he Lucky franchise. American Brands said it will introduce a new low-priced brand of cigarettes called Malibu. The company's U.K.-based Gallaher Ltd unit had a strong performance in 1986 and became the second-largest contributor to operating earnings, American Brands said.