Philip Morris: On Track To Deliver Full-year EPS Guidance - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) announced the company increased, for a favorable discrete tax item of $0.04 only, its 2017 full-year reported earnings per share guidance to a range of $4.84 to $4.99, at prevailing exchange rates. The company noted that its forecast assumes net revenue growth, excluding excise taxes, in excess of the current annual growth target range of 4% to 6%, excluding currency and acquisitions.

André Calantzopoulos, CEO, stated: "We are fully on track to deliver our full-year EPS guidance, driven by robust pricing and accelerating IQOS volume growth. We anticipate a combined cigarette and heated tobacco unit volume decline of 3% to 4% for the full year."

First-quarter reported earnings per share was $1.02, up 4.1% from $0.98 in 2016. Adjusted earnings per share was $0.98, flat versus prior year period, reflecting a tax item.

First-quarter reported net revenues were $16.6 billion, a decrease of 1.4%. Net revenues, excluding excise taxes, were $6.1 billion, down by 0.3%. Excluding unfavorable currency of $120 million, net revenues, excluding excise taxes, were up by 1.7%.

"Our results were in line with our previously communicated expectation of a relatively weak first quarter, due to lower cigarette volume primarily related to low-price brands in specific markets where the impact on our profitability was limited and certain timing factors," said André Calantzopoulos, CEO.

PMI's total shipment volume of cigarettes and heated tobacco units decreased by 9.4%, or by 7.8% excluding net estimated inventory movements, reflecting a challenging comparison with the first quarter of 2016, which declined by a more modest 1.1%, as well as ongoing declines of primarily low-price volumes in specific markets, such as Pakistan and the Philippines. The company noted that its first quarter of 2016 also benefited from the favorable estimated impact of the leap year.