Philip Morris raises FY profit guidance on strong Q3 sales

Tobacco giant Philip Morris raised its full-year profit guidance on Tuesday on the back of strong Q3 sales of its Zyn and IQOS products in the US.

Philip Morris said net revenues from its combustibles unit rose by 5.2% in the three months ended 30 September, while global shipments of its Zyn nicotine pouch surged 41.4% to 149.1m thanks to easing supply chain bottlenecks and increased demand.

Total net revenue was up 8.4% at $9.9bn, while shipping volumes increased 2.9% to 203.0bn units in Q3 and gross profits improved 9.5% to $6.5bn.

As a result, the Marlboro maker now anticipates full-year adjusted diluted earnings per share to grow by 14-15% in 2024, up from previous guidance for an increase of 11-13%. FY earnings were forecast to be in the range of $6.45 to $6.51 per share.

As of 1310 BST, Philip Morris shares were up 3.10% in pre-market trading at $122.65 each.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com