PHILIP-MORRIS
Philip Morris International Inc. (“PMI”) (NYSE: PM) announced today that it will implement a temporary suspension of its operations at Philip Morris Manufacturing & Technology Bologna S.p.A., Italy (“MTB”) due to the ongoing situation regarding COVID-19. In agreement with social partners, the Company has decided to suspend production for a period of one week, out of an abundance of caution and to support the government’s efforts to limit propagation of COVID-19.
The Company will monitor the situation closely with a view to restarting operations as soon as possible, subject to government requirements.
Although several governments have mandated production facilities to temporarily suspend their operations, currently for periods from one to two weeks, PMI does not currently expect out-of-stock situations in any major operating income markets and believes consumers still have adequate access to its products.
As part of its ongoing business continuity plans, there are adequate inventories of PMI finished goods, on average across all markets, of over two months for heated tobacco units (“HTUs”), over three months for tobacco heating devices, and over one and a half months for cigarettes, based on sales trends recorded prior to the situation generated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Although MTB accounted for approximately 50% of HTU production as of February 2020, PMI’s other HTU facilities currently remain operational, with an annual installed capacity of approximately 70 billion units. The above-mentioned government-mandated production suspensions affect approximately 20% of PMI’s cigarette-production capacity worldwide.
“In this unprecedented global situation, our primary concern remains the health and safety of our colleagues, their families, and the communities in which we operate,” said Jacek Olczak, PMI Chief Operating Officer. “We have therefore decided to temporarily suspend operations at our facility near Bologna. We are committed to doing our part and have taken a number of steps over the last two months to protect our people and ensure continuity of supply to our customers and consumers.”
PMI has implemented a number of measures to protect employees in its manufacturing facilities and offices around the world, including: asking office-based employees to work from home, limiting business travel, canceling large in-person gatherings and events, restricting access to factories to essential workers, implementing temperature screening where permitted, enhancing cleaning and sanitization protocols, compartmentalizing activities, and enforcing personal protective equipment use, personal hygiene and social distancing.
-ENDS-
Philip Morris International: Delivering a Smoke-Free Future
Philip Morris International (PMI) is leading a transformation in the tobacco industry to create a smoke-free future and ultimately replace cigarettes with smoke-free products to the benefit of adults who would otherwise continue to smoke, society, the company and its shareholders. PMI is a leading international tobacco company engaged in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes, as well as smoke-free products and associated electronic devices and accessories, and other nicotine-containing products in markets outside the United States. In addition, PMI ships a version of its IQOS Platform 1 device and its consumables authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to Altria Group, Inc. for sale in the United States under license. PMI is building a future on a new category of smoke-free products that, while not risk-free, are a much better choice than continuing to smoke. Through multidisciplinary capabilities in product development, state-of-the-art facilities and scientific substantiation, PMI aims to ensure that its smoke-free products meet adult consumer preferences and rigorous regulatory requirements. PMI's smoke-free IQOS product portfolio includes heat-not-burn and nicotine-containing vapor products. As of December 31, 2019, PMI estimates that approximately 9.7 million adult smokers around the world have already stopped smoking and switched to PMI's heat-not-burn product, available for sale in 52 markets in key cities or nationwide under the IQOS brand. For more information, please visit www.pmi.com and www.pmiscience.com .
Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties and are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Important factors that may cause actual results and outcomes to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements included in this release are described in PMI publicly filed reports, including those described under Item 1A. “Risk Factors” in PMI’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 and also entail risks of further developments regarding COVID-19.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200323005373/en/
Link:
About Business Wire
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
NIKE, Inc. Announces New Geography Leadership Appointments20.1.2026 22:15:00 CET | Press release
NIKE, Inc. (NYSE: NKE) today shared the following note with teammates regarding changes to its Senior Leadership Team: This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260120575539/en/ César Garcia, VP/GM Nike Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) To: Lst-Global From: EHill Subject: Leadership Announcements Team, In recent months, the Senior Leadership Team has benefited from having our Geography VP/GMs at the table helping us move faster and bringing us closer to athletes* in both countries and marketplaces around the world. As we continue to drive our Win Now actions and stand up our Sport Offense, I’d like to share several important leadership changes across three of our Geo VP/GM roles. EMEA Carl Grebert, a true legend on our team, has decided to retire after nearly 30 years of service and leadership across global, country and geography roles across the company. Carl shared his thinking with me some time ago, and I’m deepl
Xsolla Expands Payment Coverage in Portugal With MB Way, a Leading Mobile Wallet Trusted by 6 Million Customers, to Unlock New Growth Opportunities for Game Developers20.1.2026 16:41:00 CET | Press release
Empowering Portuguese players with Seamless, Localized Payment Options for a Smoother and More Trusted Gaming Experience Xsolla, a global video game commerce company that helps developers launch, grow, and monetize their games, today announced the expansion of its payments solution in Portugal with the addition of MB Way. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260120938007/en/ Graphic: Xsolla Portugal is a leader in digital transformation, with nearly 90% of its population online, high smartphone usage, and a strong adoption of mobile banking. Trusted by 6 million people, connected to 11 million cards, supported by 28 banks, and driving 496 million transactions in 2024, MB Way provides 95% market coverage, allowing most bank customers to use the service. MB Way is the leading mobile wallet in Portugal, with an estimated market share of 34%-45% of all e-commerce transactions locally. By adding MB Way as a payment meth
Balena Secures Strategic Growth Investment to Accelerate Edge AI and IoT Fleet Management20.1.2026 15:14:00 CET | Press release
New partnership fuels product innovation and reinforces Balena’s position as the leading hardware-agnostic platform dedicated to the security and long-term stability of device fleets Balena, the leading platform for deploying, managing, and scaling fleets of edge computing and AI devices, today announced a strategic growth investment from LoneTree Capital (“LoneTree”), a New York-based growth capital firm. The partnership will accelerate Balena’s product innovation with a focus on Edge AI workloads and security features to meet evolving compliance needs, while expanding resources for customer success and global fleet support. Founded in 2011, Balena enables customers to leverage the ever-increasing power of technology to solve real-world problems by providing software to manage the full lifecycle of edge computing devices. The platform abstracts away infrastructure complexity, handling critical tasks like secure Over-The-Air (OTA) updates so engineering teams can focus on their core pr
SIRBAI Launches Middle East’s First AI-Powered Autonomous Drone Swarm Technology at UMEX 202620.1.2026 15:11:00 CET | Press release
New platform enables coordinated, autonomous drone operations designed for modern defense environments SIRBAI today announced the official launch of the Middle East’s first AI-powered autonomous drone swarm technology at UMEX 2026 - a global exhibition platform for unmanned systems and autonomous capabilities - marking the company’s entry into the defense technology sector. Designed for unmanned aerial systems (UAS), the platform enables multiple drones to operate collaboratively with a high degree of autonomy, even in complex and contested environments. As the first company in the region to offer this advanced capability, SIRBAI is set to redefine the modern battlefield with innovative and scalable autonomous technology, establishing new standards for resilient and operator-friendly mission systems for modern defense operations. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260120186459/en/ SIRBAI Launches Middle East’s Fi
FlightSafety International Receives EASA and UK CAA Certification for Gulfstream G700 Flight Simulator at Farnborough Learning Centre20.1.2026 15:05:00 CET | Press release
Certification advances training support and builds on FlightSafety’s decades-long partnership with Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. FlightSafety International Inc. (FSI), a global leader in aviation training and simulation technology, announced today it has received European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) certification for its Gulfstream G700 Full Flight Simulator (FFS), located at the company’s Farnborough Learning Centre. The certification of the simulator, which was engineered and manufactured by FSI, validates the advanced technology, accuracy, and fidelity of the flight training device, confirming it meets the highest European and UK regulatory standards. The FFS will be leveraged for initial, recurrent, and advanced pilot training to support G700 and Gulfstream G800 aircraft, further expanding global access to high-fidelity training. “The G700 simulator certification in Farnborough reinforces FSI’s long-standing commitment to supporting Gulfst
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom
