Philip Morris International (Nyse: PM )

[alingtonsky]

22 OTT - Philip Morris ha chiuso il terzo trimestre con un utile netto in rialzo a 2,08 miliardi di dollari, pari a 1,01 dollari per azione, dagli 1,73 miliardi di dollari dello stesso periodo del 2007 (pari a 82 centesimi per azione).


http://www.wallstreetitalia.com/articolo.asp?art_id=632716


Philip Morris Int'l 3Q profit rises 20 pct

October 22, 2008 10NEW YORK (AP) - Philip Morris International said Wednesday its third-quarter profit rose 20.6 percent as sales climbed and foreign-exchange rates boosted results.
The results led the company to reaffirm its full-year profit forecast for 2008 and raise its quarterly dividend.

Marlboro cigarettes are arranged for a photograph in New York on Aug. 29, 2007. Photographer: Tim Boyle/Bloomberg News
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=photos&sid=ad_ijPLut.KU

Chief Financial Officer Hermann Waldemer told investors on a conference call, "I am convinced that our business is very recession-resilient."
The world's biggest non-governmental cigarette maker reported net income for the quarter of $2.1 billion, or $1.01 per share, compared with $1.73 billion, or 82 cents per share, a year ago.
Philip Morris International Inc. — which sells cigarettes outside the U.S. — said revenue rose 22 percent to $17.37 billion. Sales rose 23.6 percent in Eastern Europe, the Mideast and Africa; 17.3 percent in Europe, 14.9 percent in Latin America and Canada, and 11.7 percent in Asia.
Excluding one-time costs, the company said it earned 93 cents per share in the quarter, beating a consensus Wall Street estimate. Favorable currency comparisons, including a weaker dollar, contributed about 8 cents per share to the results, and tax items added another 8 cents.
"Currencies, of course, don't move all in one, in the same direction," Waldemer added. "I mean, the recent moves of the U.S. dollar versus the euro and, on the other hand, versus the yen is just living proof of what I say, and we have many other currencies that we work in around the world."
Waldemer said that year-to-date, the company's results had been boosted by $750 million by currency effects.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, who typically exclude one-time costs, expected earnings of 90 cents per share on revenue of $6.57 billion.
"PMI's results and outlook reinforce our positive view on the sector," JPMorgan analyst Erik Bloomquist told investors. "The international tobacco companies are likely the most recession-resistant companies within consumer staples."
The company — which sells Marlboros, L&M, Chesterfield and Bond Street brands — reiterated that it would earn $3.32 to $3.38 in 2008. It earned $2.79 a share in 2007. And it raised its quarterly dividend by 17 percent to 54 cents per share from 46 cents per share.
During the quarter, the company completed its acquisition of Canadian cigarette maker Rothmans Inc. for $2 billion Canadian dollars. Including acquisitions, its sale volume rose 4 percent.
The CFO added that its credit position was safe. He said the company had issued $9 billion in bonds earlier in the year and, due to a strong credit rating, had "uninterrupted access to the tier 1 commercial paper market." He added that there was $6.4 billion available in a revolving credit facility.
Philip Morris International has offices in Lausanne, Switzerland, and New York.

http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/ticker/article.aspx?Feed=AP&Date=20081022&ID=9306308&Symbol=PM

 

[alingtonsky]

McDonald's, Phillip Morris: Stick with Companies You Know and Use

by: Andrew Snyder October 23, 2008

We are in the heart of earnings season, and as you can tell by the plunging Dow and dropping oil prices, the reports are not great and the forecasts are even worse. But there are a few bright spots out there.
Notably, McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) beat Wall Street estimate and showed a hefty increase in third-quarter revenues (see conference call transcript). Analysts were expecting earnings per share of $0.98, but the company showed profits of $1.05 per share. The earnings came on revenues of $1.19 billion, a year-over-year increase of about 11%.

Even with the positive earnings report, shares of McDonald's opened in negative territory. That was not the case for Phillip Morris International (NYSE:PM). It is the international tobacco-selling division that Altria (NYSE:MO) spun off earlier this year.
Yesterday’s announcement proves my point that so-called “vice” stocks will be winners throughout this market mess. The company’s sales rose by over 17% to help the company record a third-quarter profit of $2.08 billion (see conference call transcript). This time last year, that figure was just $1.73 billion. Earnings per share (excluding one-time items) were $0.93, four cents higher than estimates.
...

http://seekingalpha.com/article/101...-morris-stick-with-companies-you-know-and-use

In questa fase può essere consigliabile puntare qualcosa su azioni difensive, non cicliche, di società di cui si conoscono prodotti e servizi

 

[alingtonsky]

Citi's price target on Philip Morris Intl. is $57 and represents the average of what we consider to be
fair values on P/Es ($60), FCF yields ($57), and EV/EBITDA ($54). We put a
50% weight on our P/E-based valuation and 25% on each of the other two
methodologies.
-- On P/Es, PMI trades at a discount to other global consumer stocks like P&G,
Coca-Cola and Pepsi, even though we expect PMI to have higher EPS growth.
We think it is reasonable to suppose that in the next 12 months, one third of
the gap in multiples will close. If normal market conditions return, this would
suggest a forward multiple should return to at least 15x. In 12 months' time,
this will be applied to 2010E EPS. Given our $4.00 estimate for 2010 EPS, this
implies fair value of $60.
-- On FCF yields, our estimate of fair value in 12 months is $57. This assumes
the yield moves from its current very high level to about 7.0%. Given current
interest rates, this seems very attractive to us.
-- Our estimate of fair value on EV/EBITDA ($54) assumes the current multiple increases to 9.5x.​

 

[alingtonsky]

November 4, 2008 10:35 AM EST

Credit Suisse upgrades Philip Morris International (PM) from Neutral to Outperform.

http://www.streetinsider.com/Upgrad...+Morris+Int'l+(PM)+to+Outperform/4122884.html

 

[alingtonsky]

18 Novembre
The world's largest non-state-owned cigarette maker also said that it was significantly ahead of schedule on its two-year share repurchase plan and that buybacks would be low in the fourth quarter.

The company said it expects earnings before one-time items to be at the low end of its $3.32 to $3.38 forecast range. The company also said continued volatility in the currency market could make the company exceed or fall short of the low end of the range by 1 cent to 2 cents a share.

http://www.reuters.com/article/hotStocksNews/idUSTRE4AH6YT20081118?rpc=77

http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN1826719320081118

Fitch sees stability for tobacco companies in 2009

November 18
....
But the Fitch analysts believe U.S. cigarette makers such as Philiip Morris USA, Reynolds American Inc., and Lorillard would be relatively stable regardless.
"This outlook is supported by the companies' significant liquidity positions and by their ability to continue to generate sizeable free cash flow as a result of their high operating margins," analyst Wesley Moultrie II wrote in a note.

http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/ticker/article.aspx?Feed=AP&Date=20081118&ID=9389526&Symbol=PM

 

[alingtonsky]

11/24/2008 7:12:11 AM
Billy Fisher

Stock seen as a great long-term buy

The economy may be on the rocks, but business could not be better at Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM, Stock Forum).
Last month, the tobacco company reported a 19.2% increase in adjusted diluted EPS as net revenue rose 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. In a time period when many companies have been cutting dividends and slashing forecasts, Philip Morris did just the opposite.
It upped the company’s quarterly dividend by 17.4% and reaffirmed its full-year forecast, which is calling for adjusted diluted EPS growth of 19% to 21%. "Our excellent third-quarter results clearly underscore our ability to deliver against our financial targets despite anticipated currency headwinds and the current global economic turbulence," said Louis Camilleri, Chairman and CEO.
Over the past six months, shares of Philip Morris have retreated 27.1% versus a 38.0% slide by the S&P 500. I am not surprised by this outperformance as historically tobacco companies have held up well in down markets. I am surprised, though, by the extent of the sell-off in shares of Philip Morris and am not sure that it is entirely warranted. The stock now wields a dividend-yield of 5.6% and is trading at just 10.9 times forward earnings.
Some of the slide is understandable given an increasing level of fear to be in equities right now, but a 27% drop in six months as the company is checking in with double-digit top line and bottom line growth seems to be a bit overdone. I think that the current price of Philip Morris International presents a tremendous buying opportunity for long-term investors.
Given that it now operates exclusively outside of the U.S., the company does not face the same level of litigation risk that Altria (NYSE: MO) does. Prior to being spun-off by Altria, Philip Morris International was a strong source of shipment volume for Altria and was the fastest growing segment of the business.
This trend of expansion has continued subsequent to the spin-off, which took place in March of this year. Philip Morris reported third-quarter results that included double-digit revenue growth from each of its business segments. Shipment volume improved in each segment except for Europe. Volume growth in Canada and Latin America was particularly strong, as it grew by 15.0% versus the year-ago quarter. These volume improvements are in stark contrast to Altria, whose volume decreased by 4.8% over the same timeframe as it battles a contracting market for cigarettes in the U.S.
....

http://www.stockhouse.com/Columnists/2008/November/24/Philip-Morris-continues-to-smoke