| Philip Morris Pakistan | |
| Type: | Public |
| Foundation: | [1] |
| Industry: | Tobacco |
| Products: | Cigarettes |
| Location City: | Karachi |
| Location Country: | Pakistan |
| Parent: | Philip Morris International |
Philip Morris Pakistan, formerly known as Lakson Tobacco Company, is a Pakistani tobacco manufacturing company which is a subsidiary of Philip Morris International. It is headquartered in Karachi, Pakistan. The company is involved in the manufacturing and sale of cigarettes and tobacco products.[2]
It is the second-largest tobacco company in Pakistan after Pakistan Tobacco Company.[3]
Philip Morris Pakistan was founded in 1969 as a joint venture between Lakson Group, Philip Morris International, and Rothmans International.[4] [2] It was then known as Lakson Tobacco Company as 51 percent of the shareholding was held by Lakhani family.[4] Two years later, in 1971, it was listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange.[4]
In 1997, Premier Tobacco was merged into Lakson Tobacco Company.[4] Premier Tobacco was founded in 1952 by SA Samad as a joint venture with Philip Morris and Rothmans International.[4] Premier Tobacco became a listed company on the Karachi Stock Exchange in 1955.[4] In 1984, Samad sold his controlling stake to Sadruddin Hashwani of Hashoo Group, which was ultimately acquired by Lakhani family from Hashwani in 1987.[4]
In 2007, Philip Morris International increased its shareholding in the company to 97 percent and renamed it as Philip Morris Pakistan.[5]
In 2015, Philip Morris shut down its plant in Mandra, Rawalpindi District due to rising costs and smuggling of tobacco in Pakistan.[6] 141 employees lost their jobs.[7]
In 2019, Philip Morris closed Kotri plant in order to restructure their finances.[8] As a result, 193 employees lost their job.[8]
By 1996, Philip Morris had an installed capacity to produce 18.76 billion cigrattes in three factories located in Dadu, Karachi, and Sahiwal.[4] Until 1991, the company also operated a factory in Mardan, but it was closed due to the rise of smuggling.[4] [9] The company currently operates two factories in following cities: