Philippine Morris Fortune Tobacco Corp., the joint venture between bilyonaryo Lucio Tan’s Fortune Tobacco Corp. and global giant Philip Morris, is set to continue feeling the impact of higher excise taxes.
The company saw a 12 percent drop in net income to P15.3 billion, as volume shipments fell to 32.2 billion sticks due to the P5 per pack increase in excise taxes to P55/pack.
The lower margin cheaper brands contributed significantly to total sales, while volumes of higher margin premium brands like Marlboro, Fortune, and Jackpot decreased by 9 percent, 14 percent, and 32 percent, respectively.
PFMTC, which is 49.6 percent owned by Tan’s holding company LT Group Inc., has launched a semi-premium brand named Marlboro crafted, positioned and priced between the Marlboro brand and Fortune brand.
It has also launched a more affordable variant of its IQOS heated tobacco, which is about 30% cheaper.