Pharma group Uniphar sees revenues increase 23%  

Along with Hickey's Pharmacy, Uniphar owns McCauley's Pharmacy as well as Allcare and Life pharmacies. 

Revenue at Hickey’s Pharmacy owner Uniphar increased by 23% over €2.5bn during 2023 with growth aided by a number of acquisitions throughout the year.

According to the company’s 2023 financial results, gross profit grew by 27.1% to nearly €390m during the year. However, after various deductions, its operating profit stood at €67.7m.

As a result, its profit before excluding exceptional items declined from €57.9m in 2022 to €53.3m last year.

The company said that it has “performed strongly” achieving its target of doubling 2018 pro-forma earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) ahead of schedule. It has now set a medium-term target of growing its EBITDA to €200m.

The company’s net bank debt stood at €149.9m as of the end of last year.

In January last year, the company acquired McCauley Pharmacy Group for approximately €50m which added 34 pharmacies to its network. In August, it also acquired certain assets and contracts from pharma consultancy business Pivot Digital.

The company said that mergers and acquisitions will continue to play an important part in its growth strategy.

“The Group continues to have a disciplined approach to capital allocation while managing an active pipeline of acquisition opportunities to further enhance the Group’s growth potential,” Uniphar said.

The company operates across three divisions. Its supply chain and retail division handles store operations, which also includes Life Pharmacy and Allcare Pharmacy, as well as the wholesale of pharmaceuticals in Ireland.

Uniphar Medtech is the company’s medical device distributor division while Uniphar Pharma works with pharma and biotech companies to bring medications to market.

Uniphar said it expects continued gross profit growth across all divisions this year.

The company is headquartered in Dublin but the group is active across Europe, North America, the asia-pacific region as well as the Middle East and North Africa.