...Fitch Ratings affirmed tobacco group Philip Morris International, Inc.'s (PMI) Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) and senior unsecured long-term debt rating at 'A' and its Short-Term IDR and short-term debt rating at 'F1' in August 2018. The Outlook was revised to Stable from Negative. The Outlook revision reflects our expectation that the company will maintain its careful capital allocation, enabling it to remain on track in its deleveraging path over the next 12-18 months and will continue to demonstrate commitment to a capital structure in line with the current `A' rating. Our projections assume a recovery of free cash flow (FCF) generation in 2019-2020 on the back of the continuation of a solid performance in 1H18 in PMI's widely diversified operations, a lower tax rate and enhanced cash repatriation flexibility following US tax reform, lower financing costs, and disciplined capital allocation. The ratings remain underpinned by PMI's industry-leading size, brand and geographical...
