Upcoming AWS Coverage on Vector Group Post-Earnings Results

LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / March 23, 2017 / Active Wall St. blog coverage looks at the headline from Marlboro manufacturer Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE: PM) as the Company announced on March 22, 2017, that it will invest approximately ?300 million to convert the cigarette factory of Papastratos, the Company's affiliate in Greece, into a manufacturing plant for the tobacco sticks to be used with its smoke-less product IQOS. These tobacco sticks are currently commercialized as Heets or HeatSticks. Register with us now for your free membership and blog access at:

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One of Philip Morris International's competitors within the Cigarettes space, Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE: VGR), reported on March 01, 2017 its financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2016. AWS will be initiating a research report on Vector Group in the coming days.

Today, AWS is promoting its blog coverage on PM; touching on VGR. Get all of our free blog coverage and more by clicking on the link below:

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Rationale behind the Decision

Philip Morris stated that since the equipment necessary to manufacture tobacco sticks for IQOS is larger than that required for cigarette manufacturing; the current facility area will be expanded. The Company noted that the investment will create 400 new jobs at Papastratos, which already employs approximately 800 people. Once fully operational, the plant will have an annual capacity of around 20 billion tobacco sticks, with the production scheduled to begin in January 2018.

"This investment is further evidence of our progress towards a smoke-free future. We are encouraged by the 1.4 million smokers who have already switched to IQOS around the world, and we expect this momentum to continue. This facility will help enable us to meet growing demand from adult smokers," stated Frederic de Wilde, Philip Morris's Regional President for the European Union.

He further added:

"Our ambition is that one day potentially less harmful, smoke-free products replace cigarettes to the benefit of smokers, public health, and society at large."

The Papastratos plant will be Philip Morris' third facility fully dedicated to the manufacture of smoke-free products. In October 2016, the Company announced completion of its first facility for tobacco sticks manufacturing in Crespellano (Bologna, Italy) in addition to a pre-existing small scale Industrial Development Center in Neuchatel (Switzerland).

Launched in late 2014, IQOS is one of four smoke-free product types from Philip Morris' which addresses adult smoker demand for potentially less harmful alternatives to cigarettes. The heated tobacco product was initially launched in two city test markets and is expected to be available in key cities in over 30 markets in 2017. Since 2008, PMI has hired more than 400 scientists and experts and invested over USD 3 billion in research, product development, and scientific substantiation. Philip Morris stated that the results of scientific research to assess the reduced-risk potential of IQOS are very promising.

Dividend Announcement

On March 09, 2017, Philip Morris International's Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of $1.04 per common share, payable on April 11, 2017, to shareholders of record as of March 23, 2017.

Stock Performance

On Wednesday, March 22, 2017, the stock closed the trading session at $113.00, marginally down 0.43% from its previous closing price of $113.49. A total volume of 5.26 million shares have exchanged hands, which was higher than the 3-month average volume of 4.49 million shares. Philip Morris's stock price surged 26.12% in the last three months, 17.47% in the past six months, and 21.70% in the previous twelve months. Furthermore, since the start of the year, shares of the Company have gained 24.65%. The stock is trading at a PE ratio of 25.22 and has a dividend yield of 3.68%.

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SOURCE: Active Wall Street