PMI’s second-quarter cigarette volume increased by 2.4 per cent in EU
Philip Morris International’s cigarette shipment volume during the second quarter to the end of June, at 222,801 million, was down by 2.7 per cent on that of the second quarter of 2013, 228,899 million.
Volume was increased in the EU by 2.4 per cent to 49,913 million, but down in the rest of the company’s regions: by 1.0 per cent to 23,065 million in Latin America & Canada (LAC); by 2.8 per cent to 74,170 million in Eastern Europe, Middle East & Africa (EEMEA); and by 6.1 per cent to 75,653 million in Asia.
PMI’s solid performance in the EU was said to have been driven by sales in Germany, Italy and the UK, partly offset by those in France, Greece and Hungary.
Total cigarette shipments of Marlboro were up by 1.0 per cent to 73.2 billion, while those of L&M fell by 3.5 per cent to 24.2 billion. Cigarette shipments of Bond Street decreased by 4.0 per cent to 11.1 billion; those of Philip Morris decreased by 11.1 per cent to 7.8 billion; those of Parliament increased by 7.6 per cent to 12.4 billion; those of Chesterfield increased by 33.2 per cent to 11.8 billion; and those of Lark decreased by 13.1 per cent to 6.9 billion.
PMI’s shipment volume of Other Tobacco Products (OTP), in cigarette equivalent units, increased by 4.2 per cent, while shipment volume for cigarettes and OTP in cigarette equivalents decreased by 2.4 per cent.
Reported diluted earnings per share during the second quarter, at $1.17, were down by 10.0 per cent on those of the second quarter of 2013, while adjusted diluted earnings per share, at $1.41, were up by 8.5 per cent.
Reported net revenues, excluding excise taxes, were down by 1.5 per cent to $7.8 billion and reported operating income was down by 13.9 per cent to $2.9 billion.
“As we expected, we achieved strong fundamental results in the second quarter, driven by a lower volume decline, strong pricing and robust market share,” said CEO André Calantzopoulos.
“For the second half of this year, we anticipate more challenging quarterly comparisons, particularly in the fourth quarter – which, in 2013, saw currency-neutral adjusted diluted earnings per share grow by 19.4 per cent – due to known business challenges, particularly in Asia, the timing of investments behind the commercialization of our Reduced-Risk Products and the roll-out of Marlboro Red 2.0, as well as costs related to our manufacturing footprint optimization initiatives.
“We are today reaffirming our 2014 full-year reported diluted EPS guidance. As previously communicated, down-trading and heavy price discounting at the low end of the market in Australia, in combination with the impact of plain packaging, could place us at the lower end of our guidance for currency-neutral adjusted diluted EPS growth of six per cent-eight per cent for the full year.”
Meanwhile, PMI’s cigarette volume shipments during the six months to the end of June, at 418,762 million, were down by 3.5 per cent on those of the first six months of 2013, 433,846 million.
Shipments were down in all of the company’s regions: by 0.1 per cent to 91,618 million in the EU; by 2.8 per cent to 44,514 million in LAC; by 4.4 per cent to 146,454 million in Asia; and by 4.9 per cent to 136,176 million in the EEMEA.
