Global cigarette shipments, excluding China and the US, should decline 2 to 2.5 per cent this year after falling an estimated 2.4 per cent in 2015, Philip Morris International (PMI) said.

PMI cigarette shipment volume through March of this year fell 1.4 per cent to 196 billion sticks with the biggest decline (7 per cent) occurring in Asia. However shipments of its Marlboro flagship brand rose 1.1 per cent to nearly 68 billion sticks, the company said.
Unfavourable foreign exchange rates caused operating companies income to fall nearly 14 per cent to USD 2.5 billion (EUR 2.2 billion) in the first quarter. Stripped of currency movements, PMI said operating income dipped 0.9 per cent.
PMI increased its profit forecast for the full year. We expect the growth to be skewed towards the second half of this year, and the fourth quarter in particular," said Chief Executive Officer André Calantzopoulos.