Watch yer' tabaky --- gettin' wacky ! << profit often >>
Business Watch -- WSJ
DOW JONES & COMPANY, INC. 2:48 AM ET 10/19/2016
Symbol Last Price Change
PM 96.56up 0 (0%)
QUOTES AS OF 04:01:04 PM ET 10/18/2016
PHILIP MORRIS (PM)
Cigarette Maker Turns In Flat Quarter
Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) reported no earnings growth in the latest quarter as shipment volume declined in its geographic segments except Europe, where shipments increased slightly.
Philip Morris (PM), which sells the leading Marlboro brand and others internationally, had seen its cigarette volume grow amid an improving European economy. However, in May, the European Union's highest court rejected a challenge by Philip Morris(PM) and other tobacco companies against a tough new antismoking law.
For the period ended in September, cigarette volume fell 5.4% to 207.1 billion units. Shipment volume declined by 8% in Latin America and Canada, slid 9% in Asia, and fell 5.4% in the Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa unit. Volume edged up 0.4% in the European Union, where the company gets about one-third of its revenue.
Over all, Philip Morris(PM) reported a profit of $1.94 billion, or $1.25 a share, flat compared with a year ago. Analysts had forecast $1.23 a share in earnings, according to Thomson Reuters. Revenue excluding excise taxes edged up 0.8% to $6.98 billion, as analysts anticipated $6.97 billion.
--Joshua Jamerson
UNITEDHEALTH GROUP
Strong Growth Boosts Outlook
UnitedHealth Group Inc. boosted its earnings outlook for the year as it posted strong profit growth in the latest quarter on climbing revenue across its segments.
The Minnetonka, Minn., company now expects adjusted earnings for the year of about $8 a share compared with its previous forecast of $7.80 to $7.95 a share.
Over all, UnitedHealth reported a profit of $1.97 billion, or $2.03 a share, for the third quarter of 2016, up from $1.6 billion, or $1.65, a year earlier. Excluding certain items, earnings rose to $2.17 a share from $1.77.
Revenue climbed 12% to $46.29 billion. Analysts had projected adjusted earnings of $2.08 a share on revenue of $ 46.09 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.
--Joshua Jamerson and Anna Wilde Mathews
BASF
Two Dead in Blast At German Complex
BERLIN -- BASF SE said Tuesday two firefighters had died and one person was still missing a day after explosions at its plant complex and headquarters in Ludwigshafen, Germany.
The chief of the fire department of Ludwigshafen, Peter Friedrich, said he assumed that the missing person was in the port area of the site, which abuts the Rhine River, but firefighters couldn't enter the water because the situation remained dangerous.
Eight people were seriously injured and 17 others suffered minor injuries in the explosions and resulting fires, said BASF executive board member Margret Suckale. The company hasn't yet assessed the financial implications of the disaster and couldn't say whether losses were covered by insurance, she said.
The events started on Monday morning, during work on a pipeline, when a small fire broke out, said plant director Uwe Liebelt, adding that the cause remained unknown. The fire led to an explosion at 11:20 a.m. local time, followed by several other explosions and fires.
--Friedrich Geiger
MERGER
Abbott, St. Jude Set Sale as Tie-Up Nears
Abbott Laboratories and St. Jude Medical Inc., in the midst of a merger, said Tuesday they would sell certain businesses to Japanese medical-equipment maker Terumo Corp. for about $1.2 billion as the two American companies march toward completing their tie-up.
The companies said they plan to sell a portion of their vascular closure and electrophysiology businesses to Terumo after the St. Jude Medical-Abbott transaction closes. No sale would occur if the planned merger were to fall apart. Abbott agreed in April to buy St. Jude Medical in a cash-and-stock transaction then valued at $25 billion, a way to bulk up its medical-devices business to better compete against rivals Medtronic PLC and Boston Scientific Corp. Abbott anticipates the deal closing by the end of the year.
--Joshua Jamerson
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
10-19-160248ET
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
