Philip Morris International reported record revenue and profit and said that the shortage of Zyn nicotine pouches is decreasing, the WSJ reports. The shares rose 10.5%, the largest increase since 2008, and closed at an all-time high. The stock was the best performer in the S&P 500.
Results:
Revenue: sales increased by 8.4% year-on-year to $9.9 billion.
Earnings: Adjusted earnings, which exclude the impact of acquisitions, impairments and asset sales, jumped 14.4% to $1.91 per share.
Zyn: Philip Morris shipped 149 million cans of Zyn to the US in the last quarter, up 41% from a year earlier. Philip Morris said that restrictions on the supply of nicotine packs have begun to ease.
Context:
Earlier this year, Philip Morris announced that its Zyn nicotine pouches had become so popular that the brand’s only factory in the US could not produce them fast enough. Zyn’s sales growth in the US slowed, and its market share declined. Since then, Philip Morris has been making efforts to increase production by adding capacity at its Owensboro, Kentucky, plant.
Forecast:
Philip Morris expects to ship between 570 and 580 million cans of Zyn in the US this year, meaning the company will have to ship at least 154 million cans of Zyn in the final quarter.