Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) has released its first quarter results for 2022 with net revenues up 2.1 per cent and shipment volume up by 3.5 per cent compared with the same period last year, according to PMI’s press release.

Despite the ongoing conflict in the Ukraine, PMI has reported a strong first quarter with net revenues up 2.1 per cent to USD 7.75 billion compared to the first quarter in 2021. The operating income decreased from USD 3.4 billion to USD 3.3 billion. In the cigarette and heated tobacco sector, PMI sold a total of 173 billion units worldwide during the first quarter of 2022, which was 3.5 per cent more than in the same period in 2021. The increase in PMI's heated tobacco unit shipment volume was mainly driven by the EU (notably Germany, Italy and Poland), Japan and the Middle East & Africa (notably Egypt). On a pro forma basis, PMI's heated tobacco unit shipment volume increased by 18.4 per cent.
"The recent months have been an extremely challenging time for many in the PMI family given the war in Ukraine," said Jacek Olczak, Chief Executive Officer. "Our primary concern is for our people and their families, and we are doing everything in our power to help them."
"Despite this tragic situation, we were able to deliver a very strong performance in the first quarter – reflecting the hard work and dedication of our employees globally – with organic net revenue and currency-neutral adjusted diluted EPS growth coming ahead of our expectations."
"The re-acceleration of our IQOS business continued in the quarter, highlighted by a sequential increase of over one million total IQOS users, excluding Russia and Ukraine, and the superb performance of ILUMA in initial launch markets. This was complemented by the robust performance of our combustible business, which exceeded our objective of stable category share in the quarter and delivered positive shipment volume and organic net revenue growth."
"We expect to deliver robust top- and bottom-line growth this year on a pro forma adjusted basis, including full-year adjusted diluted EPS growth of 9 per cent to 11 per cent, excluding currency. This gives us confidence in achieving our 2021 to 2023 compound annual growth targets, on a pro forma basis, and our ambition to become a majority smoke-free company by 2025," Olczak concluded.