Philip Morris International (PMI) said it will earn substantially less this year due to a pre-tax charge of USD 495 million (EUR 363.5 million) for closing a major cigarette plant in the Netherlands, and from unfavourable trends in foreign exchange rates.

Ending local production in Australia contributed marginally to the reduction in diluted earnings per share (EPS) forecast for 2014, according to PMI. Diluted EPS was cut to USD 4.87-4.97 from the estimate of USD 5.09-5.19 made by PMI in early May. Reported EPS for the prior year, 2013, was USD 5.26.
“2014 is proving to be a complex and truly atypical year for PMI”, said Chief Executive Officer André Calantzopoulos
Plans to shutter Bergen op Zoom, and make about 1,230 employees redundant, as well as the end of local production in Australia were announced in early April.