PMI’s volumes down
Philip Morris International’s shipment volume during the 12 months to the end of December, at 812,946 million, was down by 4.1 percent on that of the 12 months to the end of December 2015, 847,270 million.
Volumes were down in all of the company’s regions: by 0.5 percent to 193,586 million in its EU region; by 2.9 percent to 271,393 million in its Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (EEMA) region; by 4.3 percent to 87,938 million in its Latin America and Canada region; and by 7.6 percent to 260,029 million in its Asia region.
PMI said its total cigarette shipment volume decreased by 4.1 percent, or by 4.7 percent excluding net estimated inventory movements, due to its performance in the EU, principally Italy, Germany and Greece, partly offset by Poland and Spain; in the EEMA, mainly North Africa, primarily Algeria, and Russia, partly offset by Saudi Arabia and Ukraine; in Asia, principally Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines and Thailand, partly offset by Korea; and in Latin America and Canada, predominantly Argentina, partly offset by Mexico.
Marlboro shipments fell by 1.4 percent to 281,720 million, year-on-year; a decease that was said to reflect its performance in Algeria, Argentina, Egypt and Vietnam, as well as the effect of consumers switching to HeatSticks, partly offset by its performance in South Korea, Mexico, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia and Spain.
L&M shipments fell by 1.1 percent to 96,770 million; Parliament shipments increased by 1.8 percent to 45,671 million; Bond Street shipments increased by 2.2 percent to 44,567 million; Chesterfield shipments rose by 11.8 percent to 46,291 million; Philip Morris shipments increased by 0.3 percent to 35,914 million; Lark shipments fell by 4.4 percent to 27,571 million; and shipments of other brands fell by 12.9 percent to 234,442 million.
Shipments of OTP, in cigarette equivalent units, fell by 4.5 percent, while shipments of cigarettes and OTP in cigarette equivalents were down by 4.1 percent.
Meanwhile, during the fourth quarter of last year, PMI’s cigarette shipments, at 200,565 million, were down by 4.4 percent on those of the three months to the end of December 2015, 209,769 million.
EEMA fourth-quarter shipments were down by 2.2 percent to 67,763 million; EU-region shipments fell by 4.3 percent to 45,193 million; Latin America and Canada shipments were down by 5.2 percent to 23,794 million; and Asia region shipments were down by 6.4 percent to 63,815 million.
In announcing the results, CEO André Calantzopoulos said PMI’s results last year underscored the strength of its existing business, driven by its world-class brand portfolio, the enormous promise of its reduced-risk products, and the tremendous commitment of its talented employees.
“We continue to make considerable progress on the development, assessment and commercialization of our reduced-risk products [RRP],” he said.
“Our ambitious goal, to transform PMI from a manufacturer of combustible tobacco products to an RRP-focused company, took a further important step forward at the end of 2016 with the submission of our Modified Risk Tobacco Product Application for our heat-not-burn iQOS product to the US Food and Drug Administration.
“We have entered 2017 confident that our base business fundamentals are in robust shape, and increasingly excited by the tremendous potential of our RRP portfolio to materially accelerate our overall business and contribute significantly to our commitment to generously reward our shareholders in the years to come.”
For the full year 2016, PMI reported diluted earnings per share increased by 1.4 percent to $4.48, and adjusted diluted earnings per share up by 1.4 percent to $4.48.
Net revenues, excluding excise taxes, were down by 0.4 percent to $26.7 billion.
Operating companies’ income was increased by 1.6 percent to $11.1 billion, and adjusted operating companies’ income was up by 0.9 percent to $11.1 billion.