Philip Morris International Inc. shares slid 3.6% in premarket trade Wednesday before reversing those losses, after the Marlboro cigarette maker said it still expects 2020 per-share earnings of $5.50, below the $5.59 FactSet consensus. The company reiterated its guidance in a statement published ahead of a presentation later in the day at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York (CAGNY) Conference in Boca Raton, Florida. The guidance includes a 4 cents per share impact from currency movements. The company is assuming total international industry volumes, excluding China and the U.S., will decline 3% to 4%, partly due to the impact of an above-inflation excise tax increase in Indonesia, and the further shift to the cigarillo category in Japan. Those items are expected to account for about 100 basis points of the decline. The company is expecting total cigarette and heated tobacco unit shipment volume of 2.5% to 3.5%. Shares have gained 4.9% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 21%.
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