Philip Morris Products S.A. Celebrates 50 Years of History in Switzerland

Philip Morris International (PMI) today celebrated the 50th anniversary of Philip Morris Products S.A. (PMP SA) at their historic factory site in Serrières, Neuchâtel, Switzerland at an event attended by cantonal and local officials from Neuchâtel and Vaud.
“We are extremely happy to celebrate 50 years in Switzerland, notably here in Neuchâtel, where the PMP SA factory was founded in 1964. I am particularly grateful to our employees, business partners and the communities of Neuchâtel and Lausanne, who have always been an integral part of our success. We are proud of this track record which we look forward to continuing in the future,” stated André Calantzopoulos, CEO of Philip Morris International. “Few companies can take pride in such a history, growing from the family-owned Fabriques de Tabac Reunies founded in 1925, to a manufacturing facility at the forefront of technology, Marlboro production quality, industrial development and innovation, now standing next to our global R&D Center.”

“The 50th anniversary of Philip Morris in Neuchâtel highlights the heritage of one of the largest international companies in our region – proof that Switzerland, and particularly Neuchâtel, offers a positive environment for economic development. I would also like to commend the company for its excellent integration and economic, social and cultural participation in our Canton,” stated Alain Ribaux, President of the State Council of Neuchâtel.

With manufacturing and innovation in Neuchâtel, and at its global Operations Center in Lausanne, PMI in Switzerland employs over 3000 people representing roughly 50 nationalities. Since 2008, the company has invested approximately CHF 700 million in Switzerland, primarily in its global R&D Center. On an annual basis, PMI’s activities in Switzerland represent an economic impact of more than CHF 1.4 billion in terms of human resources expenditures and the purchase of goods and services, in addition to CHF 1 billion in excise tax on tobacco.

The company’s 50th anniversary celebrations will conclude on Saturday with a special event for employees and their families, as well as retired staff, all of whom have helped in making PMP SA a contributor to the Swiss economy.

Philip Morris Cigarette Shipments Fall 3.5%, Profits Tumble 13%

Inc. (NYSE: PM) reported second-quarter 2014 results before markets opened on Thursday. The tobacco products firm posted quarterly adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.41 on revenue of $7.8 billion. In the same period a year ago, the company reported EPS of $1.30 on $7.92 billion in revenues. Thomson Reuters had consensus estimates for EPS of $1.24 and revenue of $7.52 billion.

Currency translation effects cost the company $1.22 billion in quarterly revenues. Operating income totaled $5.8 billion, down 13.4% year-over-year. The company forecast full year EPS in a range of around $5.72 to $5.83, compared with a full-year 2013 EPS of $5.40. The forecast includes a $0.61 per share reduction due to currency exchange rates and a charge of $0.25 per share related to the closing of Philip Morris plants in Australia and the Netherlands. The consensus estimate had called for full-year EPS of $5.14 on revenues of $29.91 billion.

The company’s CEO noted:

    For the second half of this year, we anticipate more challenging quarterly comparisons, particularly in the fourth quarter — which, in 2013, saw currency-neutral adjusted diluted earnings per share grow by 19.4% — due to known business challenges, particularly in Asia, the timing of investments behind the commercialization of our Reduced-Risk Products and the roll-out of Marlboro Red 2.0, as well as costs related to our manufacturing footprint optimization initiatives.

Philip Morris, the manufacturer of cheap Marlboro cigarettes, pays a quarterly dividend of $0.94 for a dividend yield of 4.1%. The company also repurchased 11.6 million shares of its own stock in the second quarter at a cost of $1 billion. Philip Morris plans to spend $18 billion on share repurchases in a three-year program that began in the third quarter of 2012. So far the company has spent $11.1 billion on share buybacks.

The proposed merger between Lorillard Inc. (NYSE: LO) and Reynolds American Inc. (NYSE: RAI) will create a stronger competitor to Philip Morris internationally, as well as to the domestic seller of Marlboro cigarettes, Altria Inc. (NYSE: MO). The company’s shares traded up about 1.1% at $85.50 in Thursday’s premarket session. The stock’s 52-week range is $75.28 to $91.81. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of around $88.70 before this report.

“Be Marlboro” Campaign Aimed at Youth?

Recently BBC released a new documentary movie called ” The Seduction of Smoking” , in which it says that Philip Morris International created a marketing campaign for its Marlboro cigarettes to target young people. The talk is about “Be Marlboro” ad campaign which is proved to be aimed particularly at youth. The Campaign for Tobacco-Free

Cigarette Companies Fall in Line With Price Increases

Altria's Philip Morris USA on May 7 announced to the trade a decrease in off-invoice promotional allowances of six cents per pack on Marlboro and L&M cigarettes, reducing the effective off-invoice promotional allowance to two cents per pack on Marlboro and 15 cent per pack on L&M, said Nik Modi, tobacco analyst at RBC Capital Markets, Chicago, in a research note Wednesday night.

Richnond, Va.-based PM USA is also taking a list price increase of $1.10 per carton on Parliament and 60 cents on the remainder of its portfolio, added Modi. The changes are effective on shipments on or after May 11, 2014.

"This price increase came roughly one month earlier than the price increase last year (which was on June 5th, 2013)," he said. "We expect [Lorillard and Reynolds American] to follow with their respective price increases by week's end. We see [the] announcement as a positive for our bullish thesis on the tobacco pricing environment. As has been the case historically, we expect the Big Three tobacco players to continue their trend of taking price increases on cigarettes twice a year and maintaining healthy net price realization of 3% to 4%."

They didn't wait that long. Greensboro, N.C.-based Lorillard [on May 8] announced to the trade a 60-cents-per-carton (six-cents-per-pack) increase on its entire portfolio, including on Newport and Maverick, Modi wrote in a followup note. Lorillard's price is effective on orders on or after May 9, 2014.

Also on May 8, Winston-Salem, N.C.-based RJ Reynolds Tobacco announced price increases on its cigarette brands. In line with PM USA's promo reduction and Lorillard's price increase, RJ Reynolds is raising prices across its entire portfolio by 60 cents per carton (six cents per pack). Reynolds price increase is effective on orders on or after May 8, 2014.

New York City-based Wells Fargo Securities analyst Bonnie Herzog wrote, "Overall,the cigarette promo decreases/list price increases that [PM USA] and [Lorillard] have taken are positive and indicate continued pricing power, in our view. Given that consumption will likely continue to decline in the midsingle-digit range, pricing is necessary to drive top-line growth."

And following the Big Three, Morrisville, N.C.-based Liggett Vector Brands also took a list price increase on Liggett Select, Eve, Grand Prix and Pyramid of 60 cents per carton (six cent per pack), Modi wrote. Liggett's price is effective on orders on or after May 12, 2014. "We expect the next round of price increases to come late fall 2014," he concluded.

Meanwhile, on April 30, Altria's U.S. Smokeless Tobacco announced that it is taking list price increases on straight stock SKUs across its moist smokeless tobacco (MST), snus and dry snuff portfolio, Modi said.

Effective May 11, 2014, Copenhagen, Cope, Skoal, Husky, Red Seal will see list price increases per roll of 30 cents and six cents per can, and WB Cut will see list price increase of 36 cents per carton and six cents per pouch.

People looking to buy cheap cigarettes online visit http://cigarette-deals.com/

Philip Morris Earnings Preview

On April 17, Philip Morris International will present its 2014 first quarter earnings. Experts do expect data from Philippines, where an increase in indirect taxes implemented in 2013 affected negatively tobacco industry. Experts say that Philip Morris business in European Union, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa was affected by numerous anti-tobacco regulations. Russia is

Philip Morris International, Leading Maker of Cigarettes

Coca-Cola is a perfect model of a wonderful business. Altria Group and Philip Morris International are two tobacco companies that have so many important features with Coca-Cola that long-term investors ought to hold all three in the same regard Coca-Cola, Altria and Philip Morris International are leading companies in their respective markets. Coca-Cola has a

Tax Collected on Tobacco

Last December, Treasury collected $423 million, while during the next seven months the combined take was $390m. The figures include both imported tobacco and excise from Imperial Tobacco's factory in Petone.

In December 2011 the amount of tax collected on tobacco, at $370m, was more than the following six months combined. Customs Minister Maurice Williamson was not concerned by the tactics. "As long as tobacco companies are abiding by the law then it's up to them how they behave," he said. Smokers interviewed on the subject were baffled to learn that increases in January did not necessarily go to the Government.

For Imperial Tobacco, which runs New Zealand's only cigarette factory, excise is triggered when product crosses a "bond line" in its warehouse, timed at the company's discretion. Brendan Walker, Imperial Tobacco's New Zealand manager, said the company's aim was to ensure it had product when customers wanted it, but he did not dispute there was a windfall opportunity each year.

"We, like any other business, will look at maximising any efficiency we can," he said. A spokeswoman for British American Tobacco, which has close to 75 per cent of the New Zealand market, all with imported products, said the company was focused on paying taxes which were due "in as efficient a way as possible".

US tobacco giant Philip Morris, the manufacturer of Marlboro Red cigarettes, has not replied to written questions. A tobacco industry source said some smokers did buy up large in December, as did retailers, with reports of dairy owners borrowing money from family members to maximise the potential windfall.

But the source conceded the companies used a similar tactic. "Everyone in the chain is speculating," the source said.

Wellington taxi driver William Dunn, who after about 40 years of smoking is struggling to kick his 10-cigarette-a-day habit, said he assumed that when the cost of a pack of cigarettes went up each January, the increase immediately flowed to the Government.

"I'll bet 98 per cent of people think that money is going to the government," Dunn said."You would have thought the tobacco companies are making enough money without having to do that."

Tobacco Companies Should be Banned From Advertising at Labour Party Conferences

After a robacco company bought space at Labour Party conference, Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham said that tobacco companies should be banned from advertising at such events. He became angry when he found out that the party has taken money from Philip Morris, the maker of Marlboro cigarettes, which has a stand in the exhibition

Cigarette sales to hit record low

Cigarette consumption is expected to reach a record low in the first half of this year due to increased regulations against smoking and heightened health awareness, according to industry data.

The consistently falling consumption of cigarettes is likely to further dent the bottom lines of tobacco giants such as KT&G, Philip Morris and BAT, market analysts said.

Korea’s aggregate sales amounted to 89.3 billion cigarettes in Korea last year, down almost 1 percent from 90 billion a year ago.

KT&G, Korea’s largest cigarette maker, saw its cigarette sales decline 1.5 percent to 26.6 billion, despite a market share increase in the first half of 2013.

This means that the Korean tobacco maker was able to grab a bigger slice of the shrinking market by luring customers away from other competitors, analysts noted.

KT&G’s market share is expected to decrease by about 1 percent to around 62 percent in the third quarter of this year after hovering around 58-59 percent in 2010-2011.

The rest of the market is shared by foreign brands ― BAT, Philip Morris and JTI.

The Korean company’s exports are also not faring well as analysts forecast about a 30 percent decrease in outbound shipments from July to September this year. Its top export destinations include the Middle East and Central Asia.

The four giants will face fiercer competition in the shrinking market as governments ― central, regional and city ― are moving to apply tougher rules against smoking both inside and outside of buildings, facilities and residential areas.

The Seoul government, for example, aims to make the capital a smoke-free city by 2020 in line with the World Health Organization’s policy encouraging its members to reduce smoking.

Also, a growing number of consumers are opting to quit smoking not only because of health reasons and regulations, but also due to an increase in cigarette prices. Therefore the best way to save money is to buy cigaretets online!

Now Cameron aide Lynton Crosby’s links to fracking industry are explored

David Cameron came under renewed pressure to sack his party’s elections adviser Lynton Crosby on Sunday night as environmental activists expressed concern about his links to the fracking industry.

Mr Crosby’s lobbying firm, Crosby Textor, represents the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association, an oil and gas lobby group campaigning aggressively for fracking. The association’s chief operating officer, Stedman Ellis, has made headlines in recent months for his outspoken criticism of anti-fracking campaigners, telling one Australian paper: “The opportunity provided by shale gas is too important to be jeopardised by political scare campaigns run by activist groups.”

The association’s members include Dart, the company behind coal-bed methane extraction in Scotland, which holds a fracking licence. George Osborne announced tax breaks for the oil and gas industry just weeks after Mr Crosby’s appointment as a Conservative adviser was announced.

Labour will attempt tomorrow to exploit the Tories’ discomfort over their links to Lynton Crosby with a series of amendments to Coalition plans to bring in a statutory register of lobbyists.

The moves follow the disclosure that Mr Crosby’s company is employed by the tobacco giant Philip Morris, the manufacturer of Marlboro cigarettes. Questions have been asked about his role in the decision to shelve Government plans to require tobacco products to be sold in plain packaging.

Labour claimed yesterday that Mr Crosby chaired a meeting last year at which tobacco industry executives discussed how to block plans to force cigarettes to be sold in plain packets. The party alleged the session took place before Christmas, shortly before Mr Crosby was recruited to advise the Conservatives on election strategy.  Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, said yesterday: “This is beginning to stink as bad as an old ashtray.”

British cigarette branding plan retains

The British authorities is still looking at banning branding on cigarette packages despite the fact that it disregarded recommendations from its legislative agenda presented in parliament on Wednesday, Prime Minister David Cameron said. Britain had seemed to become the first European nation to make tobacco companies to remove brand names and to use standardized packaging,

Ukrainian legal cigarette market to narrow in 2013

The Ukrainian legal cigarette market in 2013 could decrease to 75 billion cigarettes, in comparison to 80 billion items in 2012, states the director for corporate issues at Imperial Tobacco Ukraine, Yuriy Kyshko. Yuriy Kyshko mentioned that growth in 2012 in the smuggling of cigarettes was observed on the Ukrainian market. Imperial Tobacco Ukraine CFO

Philip Morris not to raise cigarette prices

On January, 4 tobacco company Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Corp. (PMFTC) required its distributors and sellers to market its tobacco products at pre-sin tax recommended retail prices, stating it has not yet increased the prices of its cigarettes. Cigarette brands, manufactured by PMFTC, are among the most famous among smoking people, including Marlboro. Cigarette sellers

Philip Morris introduces price-marked variants of Marlboro cigarettes

One of the largest cigarette companies, Philip Morris, is to introduce price-marked variants of one of its premium cigarette brand in London and the South-East to be able to fight “overpricing” in some locations. Martin Inkster, the new managing director of Philip Morris UK & Ireland, stated that starting with December 2012, wholesalers in London

Big Tobacco accused of new smokescreen

Cigarette firms have been taken down once again over their absence of compliance with new plain packaging regulations just day before the law becomes operational. Health Minister Tanya Plibersek is requiring two industry giants – Imperial Tobacco and British American Tobacco – take away ringed watermarking from their cigarette paper that seem to make their

Philip Morris: Declining Cigarette Volumes Don’t Threaten Cash Flows to Shareholders

Philip Morris revealed third quarter earnings, excluding excise taxes, of $7.9 billion, which are down 5.3 percent on the year. Excluding unfavorable currency effects and effect from purchases, profits increased 3.4 percent on the year. Cigarette volumes dropped 1.3 percent on the year, resulting from weakness in Europe. On average, analysts predicted the company to