Modern oral nicotine pouch Zyn continued its growth trajectory with second-quarter U.S. volumes growing by more than 50% despite supply tensions, tobacco company Philip Morris International (PMI) reported for its fiscal second-quarter 2024.
Shipments of Zyn reached 135.1 million cans for the second quarter, representing growth of 50.3% versus prior year.
The tobacco company earlier this month announced plans to invest $600 million through one of its U.S. affiliates to open a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Aurora, Colorado, for its modern oral nicotine pouch Zyn to help meet consumer demand for smoke-free products.
“The excellent momentum of our smoke-free business continued with an outstanding second- quarter and first-half performance,” said PMI CEO Jacek Olczak. “We are on track for a strong 2024.”
Looking ahead, PMI raised its expectations for nicotine-pouch shipment volumes in the United States to about 580 million cans from the approximately 560 million cans it expected earlier.
On the earnings call, Emmanuel Babeau, PMI’s chief financial officer, said thatthe company was making “good progress on expanding production and continue to expect a gradual improvement through the third quarter, with sequentially higher volume and for production volumes to meet expected consumer demand during the course of the fourth quarter,” according to an Alpha Sense transcript of the earnings report. Babeau added that the company expects to provide “around 900 million cans of capacity for 2025.”
The Stamford, Connecticut-based company reported cigarette volume was up 0.4% for the second quarter and IQOS heat stick unit shipments increased 13.1% year over year, the company reported. The cigarette maker’s IQOS electronic cigarettes, are expected to launch in the United States this year.
Beating analysts’ estimates, the company reported $9.47 billion in sales for the second quarter.
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