Observer Report Karachi
Philip Morris (Pakistan) Limited (“Company”) announced a profit aftertax of PKR 1,765 million for the year ended December 31st, 2020 as compared to a loss after tax of PKR 1,980 million in the corresponding period last year.
The overall increase in profit after tax from last year is mainly due to a significant decrease in other expenses by PKR 2,732 million, which is largely attributable to the one-off impairment and employee separation cost charged on account of closure of the Company’s factory in Kotri during 2019.
During the year ended, the Company’s volume declined by 20% mainly reflecting the pressure faced by the legally compliant tax paying cigarette sector from the expanding illicit one, which now accounts for approx. 37% of the total market for the year 2020 versus 33.1% for the year 2019 (Retail Audit).