Philip Morris Shares Rise After Profits Beat Expectation, Dividend Raised

Philip Morris International Inc. shares are up 1.1% in Tuesday premarket trading after it reported third-quarter earnings that beat estimates and raised its quarterly dividend by 2%. The tobacco company reported net income of $1.94 billion, or $1.25 per share, flat with 2015. Adjusted earnings were also $1.25 per share, beating the $1.24 per share FactSet consensus. Sales for the quarter excluding excise taxes were $6.98 billion, up from $6.92 billion, and just below the $6.99 billion FactSet consensus. Shipments of Marlboro and Parliament cigarettes decreased 1.1% and 0.7% respectively, while shipments of Chesterfield cigarettes rose 14.4% for the quarter. The company raised the dividend to an annualized rate of $4.16 per common share. Philip Morris reaffirmed its full-year 2016 forecast for earnings per share in the range of $4.53 to $4.58. Philip Morris shares are up 8.7% for the year to date while the S&P 500 Index is up 4% for the same period.