Philip Morris International is suppose to post 'solid' 2008 3rd-quarter earnings

October 16, 2008 - Philip Morris International, Inc (PMI) will release the third quarter earnings for 2008 on Wednesday, October 22 at 7:00 am ET. The company will host a conference call that morning at 9:00 am ET to discuss the financial results. The presentation will be available via audio webcast at pmintl.com.

Michael Branca, a Barclays Capital analyst he expected PMI, seller of Marlboro cigarettes overseas, to post better-than-expected third-quarter results. Similar to the previous two 2008 quarters, Branca said he expected a modest volume increase of 1.5 percent worldwide. He said markets in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America to be particularly strong while sales volume in the European Union may fall by about 1.7 percent.

PMI is a holding company that, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, is engaged in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products in markets outside the United States. PMI’s top 10 brands by volume are Marlboro, L&M, Philip Morris, Bond Street, Chesterfield, Parliament, Lark, A Mild, Morven Gold and DJI Sam Soe. Its products are sold in over 160 countries. Its brand portfolio includes a variety of blends and styles, across 150 brands and over 1,900 variants.

During the year ended December 31, 2007, L&M had a shipment volume of 97.1 billion units. PMI makes A Hijau, A Mild and Dji Sam Soe in Indonesia; Diana in Italy; Optima and Apollo-Soyuz in Russia; Morven Gold in Pakistan; Boston in Colombia; Best and Classic in Serbia; f6 in Germany; Delicados in Mexico; Assos in Greece, and Petra in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

On March 28, 2008, Altria Group, Inc. completed the spin-off of PMI.

Reference: Philip Morris International Inc (NYSE:PM) to Release Q3 2008 Earnings October 22, TransWorldNews, 10/15/2008 and Analyst: Philip Morris Int'l to post 'solid' gain, Yahoo Finance, 10/7/2008.