Philip Morris International, the world’s largest publicly traded tobacco company, posted second-quarter profits that topped analysts’ estimates, helped by price increases and growth in Eastern Europe.
Net income rose 1.9 per cent to $1.89 billion, or $1.21 a share, from $1.85 billion, or $1.17, a year earlier, the New York-based maker of Marlboro cigarettes said in a statement. Excluding some items, profit was $1.21 a share, beating analysts’ $1.13 average estimate.
Consumer confidence is stable or rising in areas that have high smoking rates, such as the European Union and Indonesia, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Kenneth Shea and Diana Rosero-Pena.
Cigarette manufacturers also have raised prices to compensate for the effects of a strong US dollar.
"Improving pricing and volumes in Europe are very encouraging," James Bushnell, an analyst at Exane BNP Paribas, said in a note.
Revenue in Philip Morris’s Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa region rose 4.4 per cent in the quarter, excluding the effects of exchange-rate fluctuations. Sales in the European Union gained 3.5 per cent on that basis.
– News by Bloomberg, edited by ESM
