Philip Morris International, which owns two plants in Russia, sold distributors in Russia 84 billion cigarettes in 2005, up 2.7 per cent from 2004.

As a result of the increase in sales, Philip Morris increased its share on the Russian market by 0.7 percentage points to 27 per cent in 2005, the company said in a release distributed at a conference of the Consumer Analyst Group of New York (CAGNY) in Hong Kong.
Philip Morris said earlier that it produced 90 billion cigarettes in Russia in 2005 compared to 85 billion in 2004. A 9 per cent increase in premium cigarettes sales, such as Marlboro and Parliament, primarily contributed to the growth in Philip Morris's financial indicators, the release says. Sales in the mid-priced segment of L&M, Muratti and Chesterfield grew 4 per cent, while changes in favour of new brands, such as Next, occurred in the low-price segment. (pi)