PMI’s shipment volume down in second quarter
Philip Morris International’s cigarette shipment volume during the second quarter to the end of June, at 219,833 million, was down by 1.3 per cent on that of the second quarter of 2014, 222,801 million. Excluding the effect of acquisitions, shipment volume was down by 1.4 percent.
Volume was down in each of its four regions: in the EEMA (Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa) by 0.5 percent to 73,829 million; in Asia by 0.5 percent to 75,256 million; ; in Latin America & Canada (LAC) by 2.1 percent to 22,589 million; and in the EU by 3.5 percent to 48,159 million.
Total cigarette shipments of Marlboro were down by 1.1 percent to 72,322 million, while those of L&M increased by 1.4 percent to 24,546 million. Cigarette shipments of Parliament fell by 7.1 percent to 11,514 million; those of Bond Street rose by 5.8 percent to 11,777 million; those of Chesterfield fell by 10.1 percent to 10,611 million; those of Philip Morris increased by 13.5 percent to 8,831 million; and those of Lark increased by 20.2 percent to 8,270 million.
PMI reported that its shipment volume of Other Tobacco Products (OTP), in cigarette equivalent units, increased by 3.3 percent, while shipment volume for cigarettes and OTP in cigarette equivalents decreased by 1.2 percent, excluding the effect of acquisitions.
Reported diluted earnings per share during the second quarter, at $1.21, were up by 3.4 percent on those of the second quarter of 2014, while adjusted diluted earnings per share, at $1.21, were down by 14.2 percent.
Reported net revenues, excluding excise taxes, were down by 12.0 percent to $6.9 billion while reported operating companies’ income was up by 0.6 percent to $3.0 billion.
“Our second-quarter results were very solid, further reinforcing our great start to the year,” said CEO André Calantzopoulos in announcing the results.
“Our organic volume trends, market share growth and robust pricing, exemplified by our flagship brand Marlboro, are driving excellent operational performance within an improving macroeconomic environment for our business.
“Based on this strong business momentum, we now anticipate we will be towards the upper end of our projected full-year, constant currency adjusted diluted EPS growth rate range of 9 percent to 11 percent.
“While currency headwinds remain stubbornly high, we are ever focused on the prudent management of cash flow. We are committed to returning around 100 percent of our free cash flow to shareholders.”
Meanwhile, PMI’s cigarette volume shipments during the six months to the end of June, at 418,590 million, were almost unchanged from those of the first six months of 2014, 418,762 million.
Shipments were increased 1.7 percent to 138,550 million in the company’s EEMA region, but they were down in its other regions: by 0.7 percent to 145,381 million in Asia; by 0.8 percent to 90,880 million in the EU; and by 1.7 percent to 43,779 million in LAC.
