PMPMI sees sales of P51B this year

Philip Morris Philippines Manufacturing Inc. (PMPMI), one of the top cigarette makers and exporters in the country, is bullish it can buck the softening market trend as it projects sales to considerably improve this year.

"It will be a tough year but we expect to post a strong growth even as the market is contracting and tobacco supply is tight with the series of floods that wiped out a considerable volume last January," said Chris Nelson, managing director of PMPMI

Nelson said PMPMI, which manufactures the Philip Morris and Marlboro brands, is confident it can ride out the soft market that is steadily contracting due to the weak economy by mounting an aggressive marketing campaign this year to increase sales of its low-end cigarette brands like Bowling Gold, L&M, Miller and Stork.

Based on its computations, PMPMI, which corners 24 percent of the local tobacco market, is projected to sell 32 billion to 34 billion cigarette sticks, a 34-percent increase from its 2005 sales of 24 billion sticks.

At the average of P1.50 per stick, PMPMI’s sales this year should reach P51 billion from P36 billion in 2005.

Nelson said the company’s growth will be on the back of an anticipated growth of its low-end brands in key growth areas in the Visayas and Mindanao regions where it will beef up its distribution network and marketing group.

"We have about 30,000 distribution centers nationwide and we are increasing our coverage to have better control of distribution. We will increase the presence and availability of our products in new areas," said Nelson.