Philip Morris International (PMI) global cigarette volume fell 2.7 per cent in the second quarter to 222.8 billion sticks, driven by steep drops in major Asian markets including Japan and the Philippines, the company said.

Gross operating companies income fell 13.1 per cent to USD 3 billion (EUR 2.2 billion) as the impact of plant closings in Europe and Australia, investment in reduced risk tobacco products and foreign exchange fluctuations cut into profit. Sales dipped 1.5 per cent to USD 7.8 billion, the company said.
Cigarette volume in PMI’s Asian region fell 6.1 per cent to 75.7 billion sticks. A retail price increase in Japan in April cut cigarette demand, where PMI said its volume in the three months to 30 June fell 16.4 per cent to 11.8 billion units. Market share dipped only 0.5 percentage points to 26.4 per cent.
Philippines volume fell 9.8 per cent to 17.2 billion units, although its share of the tax-paid market rose. A sharp decline in Pakistan due to changes in inventory trade movements contributed to Asian volume decline, PMI said.
Asia remained PMI’s largest volume region, followed by Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EEMA) where volume fell 2.8 per cent to 74.2 billion sticks. Volume in the European Union rose 2.4 per cent to 49.9 billion sticks.
Global shipments of Marlboro rose 1 per cent to 73.2 billion sticks in the quarter, PMI said.
PMI expects more challenging quarterly comparisons in the second half of the year due to business challenges in Asia, product investment and restructuring costs, said Chief Executive Officer André Calantzopolous.