United Drug profits in line with budget

IRISH healthcare services group, United Drug, has said that trading across its businesses has been good in the first quarter of its financial year and market share has been gained, despite the well-touted cuts in medicine prices.

United Drug’s fiscal year runs until the end of September and as part of a trading update for the time since then — issued ahead of the group’s annual general meeting in Dublin, yesterday — management said profits are currently “in line with budget” and “well ahead of what was a slow first quarter in 2009”.

“Overall profits in the Healthcare Supply Chain division are ahead of last year. Our wholesale businesses in the Republic and Northern Ireland have maintained their market leading positions in markets that are still experiencing volume growth.”