Investments in the Papastathos company, starting in 2017 and continuing until today, have resulted in a significant increase in the production of IQOS products at the company's factory in Aspropyrgos. As a result, net sales of its subsidiary, Philip Morris International, amounted to €657 million in 2022, an increase of 40% compared to €469 million in 2021.
However, the cost of goods sold in 2022 increased by 58% to €426.5 million from €270 million in 2021, due to the surge in energy prices, supply chain disruptions, and overall production costs. In this context, the gross profit for 2022 amounted to €231 million, a 16% increase from €200 million last year. As for operating profit (EBITDA), it reached €135 million in 2022, down from €146 million in 2021. Net income was €85 million in 2022, compared to €101 million in 2021.
Overall, the company's sales amounted to €1.58 billion in 2022, compared to €1.364 billion in 2021. €1.251 billion were domestic sales (compared to €1.183 billion in 2021), while exports reached approximately €329 million in 2022, significantly higher than the €181 million in 2021.
It should be noted that on March 22, 2023, an extraordinary General Assembly decided to distribute a dividend of €50 million from the retained earnings of previous years. On July 21, 2023, the company's Board of Directors proposed the non-distribution of a dividend from the 2022 earnings, pending approval from the Ordinary General Assembly.
Focus on Investments in Aspropyrgos
Since 2017, the company has embarked on a large investment program of €300 million to convert its factory in Aspropyrgos into an exclusive production unit for the heated tobacco sticks for the IQOS tobacco product, potentially reduced-risk compared to conventional cigarettes.
In 2021, a new investment of €125 million was made to upgrade the existing production lines of heated tobacco sticks to produce the next-generation IQOS products.
In addition, further investments of €160 million were approved in 2022. As a result of all these investments, by the end of 2022, the company had in operation 6 modified and 2 fully new production lines for heated tobacco sticks for the new generation product ILUMA. Additionally, there are 2 filter production lines and 2 digital printing lines. Four new production lines of the new generation and 2 digital printing lines were also being installed.
In February 2023, the company announced further investments of €200 million for its Aspropyrgos factory, adding 4 new production lines, creating 300 jobs, and exporting products worth €300 million. This second investment will strengthen the company's production capacity and further expand its exports.
Finally, it is worth noting that in early 2023, Papastathos transformed into the Administrative Center of Philip Morris International's Operations for Southeast Europe, which includes 12 countries (Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Cyprus, Malta, Slovakia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro).
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