Washington - Philip Morris International Inc (PMI), the worlds largest publicly traded tobacco company, and Reynolds American Inc, the second-largest US cigarette maker, Thursday reported second-quarter profits that topped expectations.

Phillip Morris, maker of Marlboro, said higher prices in Argentina, Germany, Russia and other markets helped prevent greater losses, as did the falling value of the dollar.

PMI reported earnings of 83 cents a share excluding some items, beating the average analyst estimate of 77 cents. Reynolds profit of 1.29 collars a share topped analysts expectations by 13 cents.

PMI's net income fell 8.6 per cent compared to the same period last year, to 1.55 billion dollars. Revenues were down 8.9 per cent to 15.2 billion dollars.(dpa)