06.05.2015, 17:30
Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) Holds 2015 Annual Meeting of Shareholders
OREANDA-NEWS. Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE / Euronext Paris: PM) held its 2015 Annual Meeting of Shareholders today. Louis C. Camilleri, Chairman of the Board, addressed shareholders and answered questions. André Calantzopoulos, Chief Executive Officer, gave the business presentation, which included an overview of PMI’s strong momentum, the exciting prospects for its Reduced-Risk Products portfolio and its commitment to returning cash to shareholders.
“2014 was an investment year during which we successfully resolved a number of marketspecific challenges, optimized our global manufacturing footprint, launched the new
Marlboro 2.0 Architecture and introduced our first Reduced-Risk Product, iQOS,” said Mr. Calantzopoulos.
“Strong business fundamentals, underpinned by the investments made last year, are driving an excellent start to this year,” he continued.
The company reaffirmed its 2015 full-year reported diluted earnings per share (EPS) forecast to be in a range of \$4.32 to \$4.42, versus \$4.76 in 2014, as previously announced on April 16, 2015.
Excluding an unfavorable currency impact, at prevailing exchange rates, of approximately \$1.15 per share for the full-year 2015, reported diluted EPS are projected to increase by 9% to 11% versus adjusted diluted EPS of \$5.02 in 2014. The adjusted diluted EPS of \$5.02 in 2014 is calculated as reported diluted EPS of \$4.76, plus a \$0.26 per share charge related to asset impairment and exit costs.
This forecast includes incremental spending versus 2014 for the deployment of PMI's Reduced-Risk Product, iQOS. The spending, which is skewed towards the second half of the year, will support plans for national expansion in Japan and Italy, as well as pilot or national launches in additional markets, later in 2015. This forecast does not include any share repurchases in 2015. This forecast excludes the impact of any future acquisitions, unanticipated asset impairment and exit cost charges, future changes in currency exchange rates and any unusual events.
The factors described in the Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements section of this release represent continuing risks to these projections.
During his presentation, Mr. Calantzopoulos also said: “Our superior brand portfolio, supported by a superb commercial organization, is driving continued market share momentum and a strong pricing variance. This is complemented by our vigorous focus on productivity and cost controls. iQOS is performing above expectations, reinforcing our excitement behind our plans for expansion later this year.”
“We are managing our cash flow prudently and forecast 2015 free cash flow to be broadly in line with last year, despite the currency setback. This should enable us to provide an attractive dividend and yield to our shareholders, while investing behind the business in order to generate long-term growth,” said Mr. Calantzopoulos.
During the Meeting, Mr. Camilleri expressed his gratitude to Carlos Slim Helú, a member of the Board who did not stand for re-election.
Matters put before the Meeting were: the nomination for election of twelve nominees for director named in the company’s proxy statement; the ratification of the selection of PricewaterhouseCoopers SA as independent auditors; the approval on an advisory basis of the compensation of named executive officers as disclosed in the company’s proxy statement; and two shareholder proposals. Final voting results will be included in a Form 8-K that will be filed with the SEC.
“2014 was an investment year during which we successfully resolved a number of marketspecific challenges, optimized our global manufacturing footprint, launched the new
Marlboro 2.0 Architecture and introduced our first Reduced-Risk Product, iQOS,” said Mr. Calantzopoulos.
“Strong business fundamentals, underpinned by the investments made last year, are driving an excellent start to this year,” he continued.
The company reaffirmed its 2015 full-year reported diluted earnings per share (EPS) forecast to be in a range of \$4.32 to \$4.42, versus \$4.76 in 2014, as previously announced on April 16, 2015.
Excluding an unfavorable currency impact, at prevailing exchange rates, of approximately \$1.15 per share for the full-year 2015, reported diluted EPS are projected to increase by 9% to 11% versus adjusted diluted EPS of \$5.02 in 2014. The adjusted diluted EPS of \$5.02 in 2014 is calculated as reported diluted EPS of \$4.76, plus a \$0.26 per share charge related to asset impairment and exit costs.
This forecast includes incremental spending versus 2014 for the deployment of PMI's Reduced-Risk Product, iQOS. The spending, which is skewed towards the second half of the year, will support plans for national expansion in Japan and Italy, as well as pilot or national launches in additional markets, later in 2015. This forecast does not include any share repurchases in 2015. This forecast excludes the impact of any future acquisitions, unanticipated asset impairment and exit cost charges, future changes in currency exchange rates and any unusual events.
The factors described in the Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements section of this release represent continuing risks to these projections.
During his presentation, Mr. Calantzopoulos also said: “Our superior brand portfolio, supported by a superb commercial organization, is driving continued market share momentum and a strong pricing variance. This is complemented by our vigorous focus on productivity and cost controls. iQOS is performing above expectations, reinforcing our excitement behind our plans for expansion later this year.”
“We are managing our cash flow prudently and forecast 2015 free cash flow to be broadly in line with last year, despite the currency setback. This should enable us to provide an attractive dividend and yield to our shareholders, while investing behind the business in order to generate long-term growth,” said Mr. Calantzopoulos.
During the Meeting, Mr. Camilleri expressed his gratitude to Carlos Slim Helú, a member of the Board who did not stand for re-election.
Matters put before the Meeting were: the nomination for election of twelve nominees for director named in the company’s proxy statement; the ratification of the selection of PricewaterhouseCoopers SA as independent auditors; the approval on an advisory basis of the compensation of named executive officers as disclosed in the company’s proxy statement; and two shareholder proposals. Final voting results will be included in a Form 8-K that will be filed with the SEC.
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