MANILA: Philip Morris International Inc. spent more than $4.5-billion to develop four new products, including the iQos, a device that heats a tobacco plug without setting it on fire. It’s been most successful in Japan, but now the company says sales growth is slowing.
Philip Morris, which sells Marlboros outside the U.S., reported revenue excluding excise taxes of $6.9 billion, less than the $7.03-billion projected by analysts in a Bloomberg survey. Shares fell as much as 17.7 per cent to $83.50, the most since the company split from Altria Inc. in 2008. The stock had fallen 4 per cent this year through Wednesday’s close of trading.
As global smoking rates decline, tobacco companies are trying to keep up performance by boosting prices and introducing new products. Philip Morris has introduced iQos into 38 markets. Chief Executive Officer Andre Calantzopoulos has said he envisions a world where all 1 billion smokers have moved away from cigarettes to less harmful sources of nicotine.
