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Feb 8 (Reuters) - Philip Morris International forecast 2024 profit below expectations and missed <br> <br> fourth-quarter estimates on Thursday, as heated tobacco product <br> <br> sales disappointed and higher costs weighed on performance.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> The company had earlier said that pressures on its margins should ease in the second half <br> <br> of 2023, as factors such as increased use of third-party manufacturing in countries like <br> <br> Indonesia and Ukraine faded.<br> <br> <br> <br> However, fresh blows to margins emerged in the fourth quarter,<br> <br> including higher costs of marketing, energy and tobacco leafs,<br> <br> as well as administrative expenses, sending its adjusted operating income margin down 2.8 percentage points to 33.7%.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <b>Shares of PMI were down 2.3% in premarket trade.</b><br> <br> <br> <br> Shipments of sticks for its flagship heated tobacco device <a href="http://gunnerxdtm535.timeforchangecounselling.com/iqos-kb-pod-lex-ktw-hin-dk-wa">iqos iluma one รีวิว</a> also fell short of analyst expectations, and PMI said they would be hit <br> <br> again in 2024 due to a ban on heated tobacco flavors in the European Union.<br> <br> <br> <br> The company's total cigarettes and heated tobacco units (HTUs) shipment volumes dropped 0.5% in the fourth quarter, compared to a 2.2% increase in the <br> <br> third.<br> <br> <br> <br> Philip Morris said it expected total cigarette, HTU and oral <br> <br> smoke-free product shipment volumes to be flat or grow by up to 1% in 2024, mostly driven by smoke-free products.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> It expects adjusted annual profit of between $6.32 and $6.44 per share, while analysts were expecting $6.60 per share, LSEG data showed.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> The downbeat forecast contrasts with that of rival Altria Group, <br> <br> which last week projected 2024 profit in line with expectations.<br> <br> It is betting on higher cigarette prices and a shift to alternative nicotine products to <br> <br> cushion the blow from declining demand for traditional tobacco products.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> PMI reported fourth-quarter adjusted profit of $1.36 per share.<br> <br> Analysts on average had expected a profit of $1.45.<br> <br> <br> <br> (Reporting by Granth Vanaik in Bengaluru and Emma Rumney in London; Editing by <br> <br> Milla Nissi)