Philip Morris International (PMI) in January-June 2024 increased tax payments to the budgets of all levels by 33.5%, or UAH 6 billion, compared to the same period in 2023 – to UAH 23.9 billion, the company said in a press release on Wednesday.

"Important factors in the increase in tax payments were the restoration of the company's share in the Ukrainian market, as well as the launch of a new factory, in which the company invested $30 million," PMI Financial Director in Ukraine Serhiy Kalnoochenko said.

It is specified that excise tax amounted to UAH 12 billion, VAT - UAH 3.2 billion.

Last year, PMI reported paying UAH 30.3 billion in taxes in Ukraine.

Kalnoochenko added that the growth of tax deductions was also facilitated by the expansion of the legal tobacco market, which became possible thanks to the active fight of government agencies against illegal manufacturers.

According to him, Philip Morris will continue to invest in the development of its own business, as a result of which in August 2024 it plans to pay more than UAH 3.5 billion in excise tax alone to the budget, both within the framework of direct production at the recently opened factory in Lviv region and its own imports, and within the framework of a local contract manufacturing agreement.

Philip Morris was separated from Altria in 2008 and is one of the world's largest tobacco manufacturers, declaring the goal of a complete transition to smokeless products in the future.

PMI has been operating in the Ukrainian market since 1994, and during this time, its declared investments have exceeded $750 million. On February 24, 2022, the company suspended operations at its factory in Kharkiv region due to Russian aggression and was forced to switch to importing products from eight PMI factories outside the country and a temporary partnership with another international manufacturer in Ukraine. In May of this year, the company officially launched a new factory in Lviv region with declared investments of $30 million.

In 2022, due to the war, PMI reduced shipments to the Ukrainian market by 30.1% - to 11.07 billion cigarettes and tobacco sticks, but in 2023, it managed to increase shipments of finished products by 8.4%, including 14.9% in the fourth quarter. In October last year, the company reported that its share of the Ukrainian market had recovered to 24% after falling to 14% from 28.5% in the first months after the Russian invasion.

The parent company's reports in recent quarters do not contain information on shipments to Ukraine.