Philip Morris Weak Sales Hurt Profit, Flagship Store to Open in Japan

Philip Morris International's third quarter profit dropped 8% as cigarette sales fell overseas. The seller of Marlboro and other cigarette brands outside the United States said Thursday that it earned $1.39 per share in the past quarter, down from a year ago, but better than estimates. Revenue fell 1% to $7.86 billion. Cigarette shipments fell a little to 222.3 billion cigarettes. Total Marlboro volumes fell 3.5% to 72.6 billion cigarettes. Shipments fell 2% in Latin America and Canada and 1.3% in Asia. Still, the company said its retail presence increased in a number of key regions, including Argentina, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain and Switzerland. Philip Morris said it's planning to launch Marlboro HeatStick and a device that goes with it called iQOS in Nagoya, Japan, early next month, along with a flagship store opening.