Philip Morris Executives Address Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Global Consumer Conference

Business Wire, Nov 8, 2000

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 8, 2000

Philip Morris Companies Inc. (NYSE: MO) executives Louis C. Camilleri, senior vice president and chief financial officer of Philip Morris Companies Inc., and Michael E. Szymanczyk, president and chief executive officer of Philip Morris U.S.A., told a group of about 200 investors today that the company continues to enhance shareholder value through successful growth strategies in all its major businesses.

Mr. Camilleri and Mr. Szymanczyk spoke at the Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Global Consumer Conference, held at the Hilton Hotel in New York City.

Mr. Camilleri told the group that Philip Morris continues to project underlying earnings per share of $3.71 for the full year 2000. He also said the company remains comfortable with its previously disclosed projected earnings per share growth rate of 11% to 13% through 2003, excluding Nabisco.

He reiterated that Philip Morris currently expects to complete its acquisition of Nabisco by year-end, and intends to make an initial public offering of between 10 and 15 percent of the combined Kraft and Nabisco company in the first half of 2001, as previously announced.

Mr. Szymanczyk reviewed the strategic direction and year-to-date financial results of the company's domestic tobacco business, Philip Morris U.S.A., and reaffirmed that the company remains optimistic about its ability to achieve profitable growth while continuing its progress in aligning business practices with societal expectations. "Our market shares are at record highs and growing, and our volume trend is stabilizing. In June of 1999 we said we plan to deliver operating income growth rates for PM USA of four to six percent per year. Current market conditions do not lead us to change that point of view. But, we'll continue to face the challenges of a wider price gap, a more restrictive marketing environment and the complexity of developing and commercializing reduced risk products," Mr. Szymanczyk said.

With 1999 operating revenues of more than $78 billion, the Philip Morris family of companies is the world's largest producer and marketer of consumer packaged goods. Philip Morris Companies Inc. has five principal operating companies: Kraft Foods, Inc. (comprising Kraft Foods North America and Kraft Foods International), Miller Brewing Company, Philip Morris International Inc., Philip Morris Incorporated (PM USA) and Philip Morris Capital Corporation.

For more information about Philip Morris Companies Inc. and its operating companies, please visit the following web sites: www.philipmorris.com, www.kraftfoods.com, www.kraftinternational.com, www.millerbrewing.com, www.pmintl.com, www.philipmorrisusa.com.

Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements

This press release and today's investor presentations contain projections of future results and other forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties and are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The following important factors could cause actual results and outcomes to differ materially from those contained in such forward-looking statements.

The Company's consumer products subsidiaries are subject to intense competition, changes in consumer preferences and demand for their products, changing prices for raw materials and the effects of local economic conditions, foreign economies and currency movements. Their results are dependent upon their continued ability to promote brand equity successfully, to anticipate and respond to new consumer trends, to develop new products and markets and to broaden brand portfolios, in order to compete effectively with lower-priced products in a consolidating environment at the retail and manufacturing levels, and to improve productivity. The Company's tobacco subsidiaries continue to be subject to health concerns relating to the use of their products, including increasing marketing, regulatory and smoking restrictions; the effects on consumption rates of price increases related to concluded tobacco litigation settlements and excise tax increases; governmental investigations; and litigation, including risks associated with adverse jury and judicial determinations, courts reaching conclusions at variance with the Company's understanding of applicable law, bonding requirements and the absence of appellate remedies to get timely relief from any of the foregoing; and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's publicly-filed documents, including but not limited to its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 1999 and its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2000. The Company cautions that the foregoing list of important factors is not exclusive and does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement.

Note to Editors:

Copies of the full text of both Mr. Camilleri's and Mr. Szymanczyk's remarks are attached and available at the Company's web site: www.philipmorris.com.