Irish healthcare company Uniphar posts organic profit growth of 5%

The healthcare services business said this growth was driven by outperformance in its supply chain and retail business during the first six months.

Wed, 26 Jul, 2023 - 08:58

Cáit Caden

Dublin-based healthcare multinational Uniphar posted organic gross profit growth of over 5% for the first six months of the year and said it has entered the second half with “strong trading momentum”.

The healthcare services business said this growth was driven by outperformance in its supply chain and retail business.

“We also continue to invest across all of our platforms to ensure continued, robust growth in 2023 and beyond,” said Ger Rabbette, Uniphar CEO.

In a trading update, Uniphar said it is focused on building a “pan-European presence” in outsourced sales, marketing, distribution and consultancy services to pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers, with a targeted offering in the US.

Uniphar said its supply chain and retail business performed “strongly” during the period and delivered high single digit organic gross profit growth.

“The integration of the McCauley Pharmacy Group, acquired in January, is progressing in line with expectations. The Group continues to target low-single digit organic growth in gross profit in this division in the medium term,” said Uniphar.

Uniphar, which is used by 200 multinational pharmaceutical and medical technology manufacturers, said mergers and acquisition deals will be key to its future growth plans.

However, future growth could be impacted by a fall in pharma exports recorded earlier this year.

The value of pharma and medical exports is running about €5.5bn below levels of last year, Central Statistics Office figures from earlier this month showed.

Pharma and medical exports contribute an outsized share of overall exports, and have come under scrutiny after they unexpectedly fell significantly earlier this year.