Philip Morris third-quarter earnings beat forecasts
Tobacco company Philip Morris International reported net earnings for the third quarter to the end of September of $1.94bn, up 0.2% from the previous year, with earnings per share of $1.25, flat on the year.
Philip Morris International Inc.
$120.79
11:04 20/09/24
Adjusted earnings came in at $1.25, up from $1.24 and better than analysts’ forecast of $1.24.
Sales rose to $6.98bn from $6.93bn the year before, which was just a touch lower than expectations of $6.99bn.
The company reaffirmed its full year 2016 reported diluted earnings per share forecast of between $4.53 and $4.58, versus $4.42 in 2015. Excluding an unfavourable currency impact, at prevailing exchange rates, of around $0.35 for the full-year 2016, the diluted earnings per share range represents a projected increase of about 10.5% to 11.5% versus adjusted diluted earnings per share in 2015.
Philip Morris lifted its dividend by 2% to an annualised rate of $4.16 per common share.
Chief executive officer Andre Calantzopoulos said: “We are confident that we will achieve our full-year reported diluted EPS forecast. We continue to anticipate annual volume in line with the September year-to-date decline of 3.9%, despite temporary volume weakness this quarter."
At 1236 BST, the shares were up 1.1% in pre-market trade to $96.60.