PMI’s volume down in second quarter

Philip Morris International’s cigarette shipment volume during the second quarter to the end of June, at 209,289 million, was down by 4.8 per cent on that of the second quarter of 2015, 219,833 million. The company reported that the drop in volume sales, which, excluding unfavorable net estimated inventory movements, was 4.3 percent, mainly reflected declines in its EEMA (Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa) region, principally in countries of North Africa and Russia, partly offset by Turkey and Ukraine; in its Asia region, principally in Japan, Pakistan and the Philippines, partly offset by Indonesia; and in its Latin America and Canada region, principally Argentina.

Volume was down in each of its four regions: in the Asia region by 7.9 percent to 69,299 million; in the Latin America and Canada region by 5.9 percent to 21,259 million; in the EEMA region by 4.0 percent to 68,332 million; and in the EU region by 0.8 percent to 50,399 million.

Cigarette shipments of Marlboro were down by 3.1 percent to 70,103 million, while those of L&M where more or less unchanged at 24,554 million. Cigarette shipments of Parliament rose by 3.4 percent to 11,910 million; those of Bond Street fell by 3.5 percent to 11,361 million; those of Chesterfield rose by 9.3 percent to 11,602 million; those of Philip Morris increased by 0.9 percent to 8,910 million; and those of Lark fell by 8.9 percent to 7,535 million.

PMI reported that its shipment volume of Other Tobacco Products (OTP), in cigarette equivalent units, decreased by 9.7 percent, while shipment volume for cigarettes and OTP in cigarette equivalents decreased by 5.0 percent.

The shipment volume of Heatsticks reached 1.2 billion units, up from 52 million units.

In the six months to the end of June, PMI’s shipment volume, at 405,330 million, was down by 3.2 percent on that of the six months to the end of June 2015, with volume up by 0.8 percent in its EU region, down by 1.8 percent in its EEMA region, down by 1.9 percent in its Latin America and Canada region, and down by 7.5 percent in its Asia region. Marlboro shipments during the six months to the end of June, at 138,088 million, were down by 1.1 percent on those of the six months to the end of June 2015.

Reported diluted earnings per share during the second quarter, at $1.15, were down by 5.0 percent on those of the second quarter of 2015, while adjusted dilute earnings per share, at $1.15, were down by 5.0 percent.

Reported net revenues were up by 1.5 percent to $19.0 billion while net revenues, excluding excise taxes, of $6.6 billion, were down by 3.1 percent.

“Although our second-quarter results were generally in line with our expectations, our cigarette shipment volume was particularly impacted by declines in low-margin geographies, said CEO André Calantzopoulos in reporting the results. “Nevertheless, we remain fully on track to deliver our full-year guidance, revised today for improving currency, which continues to represent a currency neutral adjusted diluted EPS growth rate of approximately 10 percent to 12 percent versus 2015.

“As previously communicated, we expect the growth to be skewed towards the second half of this year, and the fourth quarter in particular.

“A highlight of the quarter was our exceptional iQOS performance in Japan, where HeatSticks reached a national share for the quarter of 2.2 percent, demonstrating the tremendous potential of the Reduced-Risk Products category.”