OREANDA-NEWS. Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE / Euronext Paris: PM) today announced its 2015 second-quarter results.

"Our second-quarter results were very solid, further reinforcing our great start to the year," said Andr? Calantzopoulos, Chief Executive Officer.

"Our organic volume trends, market share growth and robust pricing, exemplified by our flagship brand Marlboro, are driving excellent operational performance within an improving macroeconomic environment for our business."

"Based on this strong business momentum, we now anticipate we will be towards the upper end of our projected full-year, constant currency adjusted diluted EPS growth rate range of 9% to 11%."

"While currency headwinds remain stubbornly high, we are ever focused on the prudent management of cash flow. We are committed to returning around 100% of our free cash flow to shareholders."

Conference Call

A conference call, hosted by Jacek Olczak, Chief Financial Officer, with members of the investor community and news media, will be webcast at 9:00 a.m., Eastern Time, on July 16, 2015. Access is at www.pmi.com/webcasts.

The audio webcast may also be accessed on iOS or Android devices by downloading PMI’s free Investor Relations Mobile Application at www.pmi.com/irapp.

Dividends and Share Repurchase Program

During the quarter, PMI declared a regular quarterly dividend of $1.00, representing an annualized rate of $4.00 per common share. Since its spin-off in March 2008, PMI has increased its regular quarterly dividend by 117.4% from the initial annualized rate of $1.84 per common share. PMI did not make any share repurchases in the first six months of 2015.

Business Development

Dissolution of Joint Venture Agreement with Swedish Match AB

PMI announces today the dissolution of its exclusive joint venture agreement with Swedish Match AB (“SWMA”) to commercialize Swedish snus and other smoke-free tobacco products worldwide, outside of Scandinavia and the United States. The dissolution, mutually agreed with SWMA, means that both companies will now focus on independent strategies for the commercialization of these products and the trademarks and intellectual property licensed to the joint venture by the companies will revert to their original owners.

The two companies have concurrently entered into transitional agreements under which SWMA will contract manufacture snus products for PMI for certain markets, including Canada and Russia, and PMI will distribute Swedish Match’s brand General in Canada and Russia.

The dissolution of this agreement will not have a material impact on PMI’s consolidated results of operations, cash flows or financial position.

Extension of Strategic Framework with Altria Group, Inc.

PMI announces today the extension of its strategic framework with Altria Group, Inc. (“Altria”), signed in December 2013, to include a Joint Research, Development and Technology Sharing Agreement. The additional Agreement provides the framework under which PMI and Altria will collaborate to develop the next generation of e-vapor products for commercialization in the United States by Altria and in markets outside the United States by PMI. The collaboration between PMI and Altria in this endeavor is enabled by exclusive technology cross licenses and technical information sharing. The Joint Research, Development and Technology Sharing Agreement also provides for cooperation between PMI and Altria on scientific assessment, regulatory engagement and approval related to e-vapor products.

Under the existing strategic framework Agreements, Altria is making available its e-vapor products exclusively to PMI for commercialization outside the United States and PMI will make available two of its candidate reduced-risk tobacco products exclusively to Altria for commercialization in the United States. It is envisaged that PMI’s candidate products would be regulated in the United States as Modified Risk Tobacco Products (“MRTPs”) and any commercialization would be subject to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) authorization. As previously announced, PMI expects to apply to the FDA during the course of 2016 for one of these two candidate reduced-risk products, its heat-not-burn iQOS product, to be approved as an MRTP.

Litigation

As of the date of this press release, the Qu?bec Court of Appeal has yet to issue its decision regarding a motion, heard by the court on July 9, 2015, to cancel the order of the Superior Court of the District of Montr?al, issued on May 27, 2015, that PMI’s Canadian affiliate, Rothmans, Benson & Hedges Inc. (“RBH”), pay an initial deposit of approximately CAD 246 million into a trust account pending the merits appeal of the Qu?bec class actions judgment.

The trial court had ordered, as part of its judgment, that RBH and the other defendants make initial deposits of a portion of the damages award within 60 days.

Should the Court of Appeal deny the motion for cancellation of the order, PMI expects to incur a pre-tax charge of approximately CAD 246 million (approximately $199 million), or an after-tax charge of $0.09 per share. Depending on developments, this charge would likely be recorded as tobacco litigation-related expenses in the second quarter of 2015. Given that the Court of Appeal's decision has yet to be issued, the Schedules to this press release do not reflect any such charge. In the event of a denial of the motion for cancellation by the court, revised Schedules and any other relevant information will be furnished promptly in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, to the extent relevant.

The cases are C?cilia L?tourneau v. JTI-Macdonald Corp., Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd., Rothmans, Benson & Hedges Inc., and Conseil Qu?b?cois sur le Tabac et la Sant? and Jean-Yves Blais v. JTI-Macdonald Corp., Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd., Rothmans, Benson & Hedges Inc. (Superior Court of the District of Montr?al, Province of Qu?bec).

Productivity and Cost Savings Program

In 2015, PMI's productivity and cost savings initiatives will include, but are not limited to, the continued enhancement of production processes, the harmonization of tobacco blends, the streamlining of product specifications and number of brand variants, supply chain improvements and overall spending efficiency across the company. PMI anticipates that these initiatives, combined with savings associated with the manufacturing footprint restructuring implemented in 2014, notably in Australia and the Netherlands, should result in a total company cost base increase, excluding RRPs and currency, of approximately 1%.