Philip Morris International (PMI) tobacco concern in the second quarter of 2023 increased shipments of cigarettes and tobacco sticks in the Ukrainian market by 50.3% compared to the same period last year, while in the first quarter there was a decline of 26.7%, according to the quarterly report of PMI.
According to it, the market in Ukraine as a whole grew by 13.4% in the second quarter of this year, thus the company managed to increase its share in the Ukrainian market after a slump last year.
More detailed information on sales in Ukraine is not available in the document, but it is indicated that PMI in July began preparatory work on a new facility in Lviv region in western Ukraine, which will be invested $30 million and production is scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2024.
It is specified that the Kharkiv plant, which was shut down at the end of February 2022, remains in the same condition due to existing threats, while products are supplied to the Ukrainian market from production centers outside Ukraine, as well as through contract manufacturing.
In the first half of the year PMI additionally did not adjust the value of its long-term assets in Ukraine, unlike last year.
It is stated that as of June 30, 2023, total assets of PMI’s Ukrainian operations were approximately $497 million, compared to $485 million a quarter earlier. These assets included receivables, inventories, and fixed assets of $75 million ($69 million), $305 million ($324 million), and $29 million ($30 million), respectively.
In addition, Lviv Regional Military Administration reported a July 27 meeting between its chief, Maksym Kozitsky, and PMI’s vice president for Northeast Europe, Michal Mierzejewski, where future production was discussed.
“The company has received a license to produce tobacco products in Lvivshchyna for five years with the possibility of extending it in the future. I hope that the plant, having created jobs, will provide the residents of our region with work,” – said the head of Lviv OVA.
In turn, Mierzejewski confirmed plans to launch production in the first quarter of 2024 and create more than 250 jobs at the new factory.
“First of all, we will employ employees of our Kharkiv factory, but we will also hire local specialists, which will create new jobs for residents of the region who have experience or would like to get it to work in this field,” – said the vice-president of PMI.
As reported, Philip Morris International in 2022 reduced shipments in the Ukrainian market by 30.1% – to 11.07 billion cigarettes and tobacco sticks. In particular, sales of cigarettes decreased by 38.1% to 6.6 billion, tobacco sticks for tobacco heating systems – by 13.5% to 4.47 billion.
