Philip Morris Issues Q1, FY22 Earnings View

(RTTNews) - Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) Thursday said it expects first-quarter earnings per share in a range of $1.50 to $1.55, with robust organic net revenue growth, as well as an unfavorable operating margin comparison.

For fiscal 2022, the company expects earnings per share in a range of $6.12 to $6.30, compared to $5.83 in 2021. Excluding an unfavorable currency impact, the forecast represents a projected increase of around 8 percent to 11 percent from last year's adjusted earnings per share of $6.08.

On average, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect earnings of $1.53 per share for the quarter and $6.35 per share for the year. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

The company further projects an increase in adjusted operating income margin of 50 to 150 basis points on an organic basis, mainly driven by the continued favorable product mix shift from cigarettes to smoke-free products.

Jacek Olczak, Chief Executive Officer, said, "We enter 2022 with strong fundamentals, underpinned by IQOS, and exciting innovation to come across our broader smoke-free product portfolio. We are forecasting organic top-line growth of 4 percent to 6 percent and currency-neutral adjusted diluted EPS growth of 8 percent to 11 percent, which prudently incorporate the continuing uncertainty on full IQOS device availability and the pace of the ongoing pandemic recovery."