Philip Morris International (PMI) cigarette volume fell 7.5 per cent to 193.5 billion sticks in the second quarter, a drop of 16 billion led by a 16.6 per cent decline in Asia, the company said.

Sales of PMI’s HeatSticks for its IQOS tobacco heater amounting to 6.4 billion sticks reduced the overall volume decline to 5 per cent. Cigarette revenue at USD 6.3 billion (EUR 5.5 billion) was down 3.4 per cent, but USD 615 million in smokeless product sales raised revenue 4 per cent to USD 6.9 billion. Operating companies income dipped 1.1 per cent to USD 2.8 billion.
Ongoing declines in low-margin cigarette volumes in Indonesia, Pakistan and the Philippines were a big part of the steep Asian decline, PMI said. The company’s “others” cigarette category posted a volume drop of nearly 25 per cent, representing 15.4 billion sticks. However consolidation of low-margin brands into international brands in Russia and Ukraine contributed to the drop in “others” volume. PMI’s premium-brand Marlboro posted a 1.8 per cent overall volume decline to 68.8 billion sticks.