Tobacco concern Philip Morris International reduced net profit and increased revenue in the second quarter of 2023, with adjusted profit and revenue exceeding market expectations.
At the same time, the company’s annual forecast was worse than analysts had expected.
According to the group’s press release, net income per share for the April-June quarter was $1.01, compared with $1.43 per share for the same period a year earlier. Operating profit fell 16% to $2.6 billion.
Adjusted earnings rose to $1.60 from $1.48 per share, with analysts forecasting $1.50.
Philip Morris’ quarterly revenue rose 14.5% to $8.97 billion, with analysts surveyed by FactSet on average forecasting revenue of $8.67 billion.
The company’s shipments rose 3.3% last quarter, with cigarette sales down 0.4% and sales of tobacco heating device sticks soaring 26.6%.
The number of Iqos e-cigarette users totaled 27.2 million at the end of June, up 1.4 million during the quarter, of which 19.4 million switched from regular cigarettes to Iqos, it said.
Philip Morris expects to record adjusted earnings in the range of $6.13 to $6.22 per share in 2023, compared with analysts’ forecast of $6.24 per share. The company expects total global shipments, excluding China, to decline 0.5-1.5% this year.
Philip Morris shares were stable in pre-market trading Thursday. The company’s capitalization is down 2.4% YTD to $152.66 billion.
Philip Morris was spun off from Altria in 2008 and is among the world’s largest tobacco manufacturers. It produces cigarettes at 39 facilities around the world and sells them in more than 180 markets. Its brand portfolio includes Marlboro, L&M, Chesterfield, Parliament, Bond Street and other brands. PMI also produces Iqos tobacco heating systems and tobacco sticks.
International chain JYSK on Thursday opened a new store in Sofia Mall (Kiev region, Sofievska Borschagovka, Heroes of Heavenly Sotnya Avenue, 24/83), the company’s press service told Interfax-Ukraine.
“JYSK is expanding the geography of stores in Ukraine. We see the demand for our goods both in cities with a million inhabitants and in satellite cities, which offer a new quality of life to residents of conurbations. We are happy to contribute to positive changes in the homes of our customers and to be useful at a convenient time and place”, – comments JYSK Country Director in Ukraine Eugene Ivanitsa.
The new store has an area of 1280 square meters, as well as an additional outside area for garden furniture exhibition of almost 100 square meters. meters.
Like all new JYSK stores, the store is built in accordance with the modern concept of the chain 3.0, with new lighting, spacious design and zonal placement of product categories.
Since the beginning of 2023, the JYSK chain has opened three new stores and revamped the operations of two existing stores. Two more new stores are expected to open before the end of summer – in Kamenskoye, Dnipro region, and in Drohobych, Lviv region, as well as the reorganization of one of Kyiv stores into a new format.
JYSK is part of the family-owned Lars Larsen Group, with more than 3.2 thousand stores in 48 countries. JYSK’s revenue in fiscal year 2021/22 amounted to EUR 4.87 bln.
Currently, there are 88 JYSK stores and online store jysk.ua in Ukraine. The company notes that this figure should increase to 100 already in 2024. JYSK has over 800 employees in Ukraine.
The logistics company Soul Marine LLC (Kyiv) will build a 20,000-tonne grain terminal in the port of Izmail (Odesa region) by the end of September, said Ivan Nyakyi, the company’s commercial director, who previously headed Crunchip and Danube Logistics Group, in an interview with Ports of Ukraine.
“At the first stage, we will have 20 thousand tons of one-time storage – four warehouses of 5 thousand tons each. We will have our own laboratory, scales, and everything we need to handle cargo,” he said.
According to Mr. Nikanyi, the necessary equipment has already been purchased.
“Unfortunately, we cannot build our own berth for a simple reason – there is no space. Therefore, we will work through other port operators, which will allow us to load vessels at different berths in Izmail,” he said, adding that preparatory work for the terminal construction has already been completed.
The Commercial Director also informed about the signed contract with the general contractor and the advance payment.
“The other day, the equipment arrived. The first stage of 10 thousand tons will be ready at the end of August, the second – in mid-September,” added Mr. Nikakyi.
It is noted that the company will employ about 10-12 administrative staff and about 30 people at the terminal in Izmail.
Mr. Nyakyi added that Soul Marine also plans to create its own platform for receiving and unloading railroad cars.
“The ability to accept not only vehicles but also railcars will be a great advantage. This is an expensive project, but it is very necessary. We are working on it now,” said the commercial director.
In addition, according to him, in October, Soul Marine plans to reach 60 thousand tons of transshipment through its warehouses, and by the end of the year – 100 thousand tons of transshipment per month. Separately, the company plans to ship 10 thousand tons of its cargo as a trader.
Mr. Nikanyi clarified that the project is being implemented at the expense of an investor who “provides financing and does not interfere with the company’s operations.” He did not name the investor, saying only that it was not related to the transportation or agricultural sectors.
According to the commercial director, Soul Marine’s team includes a technical director who built elevators on the Dnipro, and a corporate director in charge of investments and GR, and a potential terminal manager, forwarder, and agent have been selected.
According to Opendatabot, Soul Marine was registered on June 16, 2023, with a registered capital of UAH 0.5 million. The main activities are non-specialized wholesale trade, auxiliary water transport services, rental of transport and equipment, cultivation of cereals (except rice), legumes and oilseeds.
The company’s ultimate beneficial owner and founder is Mykhailo Kuranda.
The United States will support Ukraine’s grain exports to markets that desperately need them, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during a briefing.
“We are going to continue to support Ukraine’s efforts to get Ukrainian grain to markets that desperately need it,” she said.
The spokeswoman also noted the provision of U.S. financial support and supplies for Ukrainian farmers, such as seeds and fertilizer, as well as assistance with crop storage and processing.
In addition, Jean-Pierre recalled that the U.S. government is providing Ukraine with $250 million in financial assistance to support the agricultural sector.
“The United States will allocate another $250 million to the AGRI Ukraine initiative to help Ukrainian farmers produce, store and export agricultural products and grain to global markets,” she emphasized.
Ukraine remains in the top 30 states with the strongest passports: its citizens can visit 146 countries without visas or with visas on arrival, according to an updated rating of national passports by Henley&Partners.
The first place in the ranking is occupied by Singapore, its citizens can visit 192 countries without a visa. The second place is shared by Germany, Italy and Spain, citizens of these countries can visit 190 countries. In third place are Austria, Finland, France, Japan, Luxembourg, South Korea and Sweden (189 countries). Also in the top 5 are Denmark, Ireland, Netherlands, UK (188 countries) and Belgium, Czech Republic, Malta, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal and Switzerland (187 countries).
Sixth place went to Australia, Hungary and Poland, citizens of these countries can travel visa-free to 186 countries. In seventh place were Canada and Greece, from where you can travel to 185 countries.
The United States and Lithuania ranked eighth (184 countries), followed by Latvia, Slovakia and Slovenia (183). Estonia and Iceland round out the top ten, citizens of these countries can travel to 182 countries without visas.
Ukraine in this ranking shares 30th place (146 countries) with two countries – Grenada and St. Lucia.
The last place in the ranking belongs to Afghanistan: citizens of this country can visit only 27 countries without a visa. Iraq (29) and Syria (30) have slightly higher positions.
The Henley&Partners Passport Index is an international ranking of countries by the level of freedom of movement they provide to their citizens. The index analyzes the visa regulations of more than 200 countries and territories and ranks them by the number of visa-free countries. A country’s position in the ranking is determined by the number of countries in the world to which its citizens can enter without prior visa processing or by obtaining a visa on arrival.
In May 2023, Ukrainian banks issued 232 mortgage loans totaling UAH 322.5 million, while in April – 41 for UAH 50.1 million, according to the results of a monthly survey by the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU).
According to the regulator, this growth was due to the resumption of preferential lending under the eHouse program.
This also led to a decline in the weighted average effective interest rate on mortgage loans in May to 8.05% per annum from 14.6% in April.
At the same time, loans are mostly issued for purchases on the secondary real estate market: in May, one loan for UAH 0.73 million was issued on the primary market, compared to two loans for UAH 1.78 million in April.
The NBU clarified that out of the 26 banks surveyed, only four financial institutions issued mortgage loans in July, as they did a month earlier.
The survey data show that more than half of all loans in May were issued in Kyiv and Kyiv region – 103 agreements for UAH 164.4 million (51% of the total), followed by Poltava region with a large margin – 11 agreements for UAH 12.6 million (3.9% of the total).
10 loans each were issued in Chernihiv (UAH 10.4 million), Rivne (UAH 13.4 million) and Vinnytsia (UAH 15.4 million) regions.
