Philip Morris International says its first-quarter profit dropped nearly 12 percent as cigarette sales fell in its markets and it was hurt by foreign exchange rates for the U.S. dollar.

The seller of Marlboro and other cigarette brands overseas said Thursday it earned $1.88 billion, or $1.18 per share, in the January-March quarter, down from $2.13 billion, or $1.28 per share, a year ago.

On an adjusted basis, it earned $1.19 per share, beating Wall Street estimates by 3 cents, according to FactSet.

Excluding excise taxes, revenue fell nearly 9 percent to $6.9 billion. Analysts expected revenue of $7.01 billion.

Philip Morris International Inc., based in New York and Switzerland, says cigarette shipments fell 4.4 percent. Total Marlboro volumes fell 4 percent.