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Philip Morris International said Wednesday its third-quarter profit rose 20.6% as sales climbed and a weak dollar boosted results.

The results led the company to reaffirm its full-year profit forecast for 2008.

The world’s biggest non-governmental cigarette maker reported net income for the quarter of $2.1 billion, or $1.01 per share, compared with $1.73 billion, or 82 cents per share, a year ago.

Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) - which sells Marlboros outside the U.S. and has offices in Lausanne, Switzerland and New York - said revenue rose 22% to $17.37 billion. Sales rose 23.6% in Eastern Europe, the Mideast and Africa; 17.3% in Europe; 14.9% in Latin America and Canada; and 11.7% in Asia.

Excluding one-time costs, the company said it earned 93 cents per share in the quarter, beating a consensus Wall Street estimate low fee cash advance. The weak dollar added 8 cents per share to the results and tax items added another 8 cents.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, who typically exclude one-time costs, expected earnings of 90 cents per share on revenue of $6.57 billion.

The company reiterated that it would earn $3.32 to $3.38 in 2008. It earned $2.79 a share in 2007.

During the quarter, the company completed its acquisition of Canadian cigarette maker Rothmans Inc. 

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