OREANDA-NEWS. Philip Morris International Inc.’s (NYSE/Euronext Paris: PM) senior management reviews the company’s business outlook and long-term growth strategies at a two-day investor meeting starting today at its Operations Center in Lausanne, Switzerland.

“The core components of our business model hold great promise for our shareholders and our broader stakeholder base. We will continue to lead the combustible product category, leveraging the great strengths of our existing business to deliver against our current growth algorithm,” said Andr? Calantzopoulos, Chief Executive Officer.

“We aim to become the undisputed leader of the Reduced-Risk Product category with the highly ambitious objective of having RRPs ultimately replace combustible products to the benefit of adult smokers, society and our company.”

“We are very well positioned to deliver against these two fundamental strategic engines given our innovation pipeline, commercial, regulatory and fiscal capabilities, manufacturing footprint and, above all, our organizational readiness and commitment.”

2016 Full-Year Forecast
  • PMI revises for currency only, and narrows, its 2016 full-year reported diluted EPS forecast to a range of $4.53 to $4.58, at prevailing exchange rates, versus $4.42 in 2015. Excluding an unfavorable currency impact, at prevailing exchange rates, of approximately $0.35 for the full-year 2016, the diluted EPS range represents a projected increase of approximately 10.5% to 11.5% versus adjusted diluted EPS of $4.42 in 2015.
  • This forecast does not include any share repurchases in 2016.
  • The adjusted diluted EPS of $4.42 in 2015 is calculated as reported diluted EPS of $4.42, plus a $0.03 per share charge related to asset impairment and exit costs, less a $0.03 per share benefit related to discrete tax items.
  • This forecast excludes the impact of any future acquisitions, unanticipated asset impairment and exit cost charges, future changes in currency exchange rates, and any unusual events. Factors described in the Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements section at the end of this release represent continuing risks to these projections.

Highlights

Presentations will be made by: Andr? Calantzopoulos, Chief Executive Officer; Werner Barth, Senior Vice President, Marketing & Sales; Manuel Peitsch, Chief Scientific Officer, Reduced-Risk Products; Miroslaw Zielinski, President, Reduced-Risk Products; Frederic de Wilde, President, European Union Region; Drago Azinovic, President, Eastern Europe, Middle East & Africa Region and PMI Duty Free; Martin King, President Asia Region; Jeanne Poll?s, President, Latin America & Canada Region; and Jacek Olczak, Chief Financial Officer.

Volume:

  • For the full-year 2016, PMI forecasts a total cigarette industry volume decline of 2.0%-2.5%, excluding China and the U.S.; and
  • For the full-year 2016, PMI anticipates its cigarette shipment volume, excluding China and the U.S., to decline in line with its August year-to-date decline of 3.9%.

Net Revenues, Operating Companies Income (“OCI”), EPS and Other Financial Measures:

  • PMI expects its currency-neutral adjusted diluted EPS in the third quarter of 2016 to be flat to slightly up versus the third quarter of 2015;
  • PMI continues to anticipate significant currency-neutral adjusted diluted EPS growth in the fourth quarter of 2016;
  • PMI continues to anticipate a full-year 2016 pricing variance of around 6% of 2015 net revenues;
  • Until 2018, PMI continues to target net revenues and adjusted OCI growth, excluding currency and acquisitions, of 4%-6% and 6%-8%, respectively, and, in the absence of share repurchases, annual currency-neutral EPS growth modestly above its target OCI results;
  • For the full-year 2016, PMI expects its total cost base, including RRPs, to increase by approximately 1%, excluding currency;
  • Going forward, PMI expects its total cost base, including incremental costs related to the continued roll-out of RRPs, to increase by approximately 1%-3%, excluding currency;
  • For the full-year 2016, PMI expects to exceed its annual adjusted OCI growth target of 6%-8%, excluding currency;
  • PMI envisages being able to revisit its currency-neutral net revenue and adjusted OCI growth targets once, as anticipated, RRPs become accretive to its bottom line in 2018;
  • PMI targets Regional annual average adjusted OCI growth, excluding currency and RRPs, over the mid to long-term of:
    • Mid single-digit in the EU;
    • Low double-digits in EEMA;
    • High single-digit in Asia; and
    • High single-digit in Latin America & Canada;
  • To accelerate its RRP capacity, PMI increases its full-year 2016 anticipated capital expenditures by an $100 million to $1.2 billion and anticipates cigarette-related capital expenditures to be at levels generally offset by depreciation;
  • Reflecting further incremental investment behind RRP capacity, PMI anticipates capital expenditures of approximately $1.5 billion in 2017; and
  • PMI expects its free cash flow in 2016 to be modestly above the $6.9 billion level of 2015, calculated as net cash provided by operating activities of $7.9 billion less capital expenditures of $1.0 billion.