PMI’s 3Q volumes down

Philip Morris International’s cigarette shipment volume during the third quarter (July-September), at 195,068 million was down by 1.7 percent on that of the third quarter of 2017, 198,465 million.
Shipments were increased by 2.5 percent to 45,840 million in its South and Southeast Asia region and by 0.9 percent to 37,406 billion in its Middle East and Africa region. But shipments were down in each of its other regions: by 1.8 percent to 48,223 million in the EU; by 6.1 percent to 29,801 million in Eastern Europe; by 7.5 percent to 14,186 million in East Asia and Australia; and by 4.1 percent to 19,612 million in Latin America and Canada.
Shipments of heated-tobacco units were down by 11 percent from 9,725 million during the third quarter of 2017 to 8,652 million during the third quarter of 2018.
Heated-tobacco unit shipments increased by more than 100 percent in four of the company’s regions: from 464 million to 1,730 million in the EU; from 180 million to 1,152 million in Eastern Europe; from 247 million to 1,152 million in the Middle East and Africa; and from eight million to 43 million in Latin America and Canada. But shipments fell by 48.2 percent in the East Asia and Australia region, from 8,826 million to 4,575 million. There were no recorded heated-tobacco unit sales in the South and Southeast Asia region, in either the third quarter of this year or last year.
Taken together, shipments of cigarettes and heated-tobacco units during the third quarter of 2018, at 203,720 million, were down by 2.1 percent on those of the third quarter of 2017, 208,190 million.
Total shipments were increased in three regions: by 0.8 percent to 49,953 million in the EU; by 3.3 percent to 38,558 million in the Middle East and Africa; and by 2.5 percent to 45,840 million in South and Southeast Asia. Total shipments were down in the other three regions: by 3.1 percent to 30,953 million in Eastern Europe; by 22.3 percent to 18,761 million in East Asia and Australia; and by 3.9 percent to 19,655 million in Latin America and Canada.
PMI’s reported and adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) during the third quarter of 2018, at $1.44, were increased by $0.17 on those of the third quarter of 2017.
Net revenues, at $7.504 billion, were up from $7.473 billion.
Operating income, at $3.156 billion, was up from $3.088 million.
In announcing PMI’s third-quarter and year-to-date results, CEO André Calantzopoulos said the company’s third-quarter demonstrated that its underlying business performance was in good shape. “Excluding distributor inventory movements, our total shipment volume was up in the quarter and year-to-date, reflecting the continued growth of our heat-not-burn products as well as the solid performance of our combustible products,” he said.
“Our total market share was up by 0.5 and 0.6 points in the quarter and year-to-date, respectively.
“In addition, supported by our leading brand portfolio, pricing was strong. As a result, we continue to forecast currency-neutral EPS growth for the full year of 8-9 percent.
“We remain focused on our smoke-free transformation and are very encouraged by the continued progress of our smoke-free products and initiatives, especially across the EU and Russia.
“As previously announced, this quarter existing IQOS device and consumable inventories were rightsized in Japan ahead of the upcoming global launch of our new IQOS 3 and IQOS 3 Multi devices.
“Importantly, our worldwide in-market sales of heated tobacco units this year remain set to almost double and we continue to anticipate shipments of approximately 41-42 billion units.”
“Overall, as we stated recently at our Investor Day, our business is showing great momentum.  As we enter this year’s final quarter, I am confident that the strategies and initiatives we have put in place set the stage for an even better business performance in 2019.”