On a GAAP basis, EPS totaled $1.28. The company also said that currency exchange rates cut earnings by $0.07 a share.
Cigarette shipment volume fell 6.5% year-over-year globally and by 42.5% in the Philippines, where a new excise tax cut shipments by 10 billion units. European volume fell 10.1% and Asian shipments fell 10.4%. Only the Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa posted a gain, and that a small one of 1.4%. The company was able to make up some of the decrease by raising prices.
The company lowered its full fiscal year EPS guidance to a range of $5.55 to $5.65, compared with full-year 2012 EPS of $5.22. The forecast includes a $0.19 per share reduction due to currency exchange rates. The consensus estimate had called for full-year EPS of $5.73 on revenues of $32.37 billion.
The company’s CEO noted:
Our first quarter was relatively difficult, with our headline results marred by a number of known factors, including inventory movements, the 2012 leap year effect, currency and a slowly improving – but nevertheless substantial erosion in our — volume in the Philippines. Despite this apparent weakness, our pricing actions and market share momentum provide us with the confidence to reiterate our annual constant-currency adjusted diluted EPS growth rate target of 10-12%.
What makes tobacco companies so attractive to investors is their dividend, and Philip Morris pays a quarterly dividend of $0.85. The company repurchased 16.7 million shares of its own stock in the first quarter at a cost of $1.5 billion. Philip Morris plans to spend $18 billion on share repurchases in a three-year program that began in the third quarter of last year. So far the company has spent $4.35 billion on share buybacks.
The company’s shares closed down about 1% last night, at $94.04 and are inactive so far this morning. The stock’s 52-week range is $81.10-$96.60. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of around $97.60 before today’s report.
The Average American Is Losing Their Savings Every Day (Sponsor)
If you’re like many Americans and keep your money ‘safe’ in a checking or savings account, think again. The average yield on a savings account is a paltry .4% today, and inflation is much higher. Checking accounts are even worse.
Every day you don’t move to a high-yield savings account that beats inflation, you lose more and more value.
But there is good news. To win qualified customers, some accounts are paying 9-10x this national average. That’s an incredible way to keep your money safe, and get paid at the same time. Our top pick for high yield savings accounts includes other one time cash bonuses, and is FDIC insured.
Click here to see how much more you could be earning on your savings today. It takes just a few minutes and your money could be working for you.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.