Operating profit at Dublin-headquartered healthcare services group Uniphar increased by more than a fifth last year as revenues topped €2.7bn.

Uniphar made an operating profit of €82m, up 21.1% or nearly €14.3m from €67.7m in 2023, while revenues increased 8.5% year-on-year from €2.55bn to €2.77bn as the group saw the full-year benefit from its 2023 McCauley pharmacy acquisition.

Gross profit of €427.6m represented annual growth of 9.6% and was divided between the group's supply chain & retail (€197.1m), pharma (€121.6m) and medtech (€108.9m) divisions, which service more than 200 multinational pharmaceutical and medical technology manufacturers combined.

Uniphar said it had delivered organic growth across all divisions, led by supply chain & retail (+17.6%) and medtech (+9.1%), while its marginally higher gross profit margin of 15.4%, reflected "operational excellence and growth in higher margin activities."

The supply chain & retail business operates 445 pharmacies across the Hickey's McCauley, Allcare and Life Pharmacy brands.

EBITDA increased 6.4% year-on-year from €116m to €123.5m, while profit before tax rose 14.6% from €53.3m to €61.1m, with adjusted earnings per share also up from 18.3 cent to 20.5 cent. Net debt declined from €149.9m to €147.7m

Pre-exceptional administrative expenses increased by 10.7% or €25.3m to €260.9m following early-stage investments in new revenue streams, primarily in the pharma division.

Exceptional items for the year amounted to a pre-tax gain of €14.5m, with the release of deferred contingent consideration of €17.6m and a €2.4m gain from the sale of Inspired Insight offset by €5.6m in costs relating to acquisition, redundancy and business transformation.

The group paid a total dividend of €5.2m or 1.92 cent per ordinary share, representing a 5% increase from 2023. The dividend is made up of the €1.8m interim dividend paid in October, and a final dividend of €3.4m, subject to approval at the AGM.

Uniphar expects continued strong organic gross profit growth across all divisions and is confident of reaching its €200m EBITDA target by 2028, with at least 80% of growth being organic.

Uniphar has projected double-digit growth in its pharma business, high single-digit growth in medtech and low single-digit growth in supply chain & retail this year, and the group said that M&A would continue to play an important role in its growth strategy.

“2024 was an outstanding year for Uniphar with all our divisions contributing to strong organic Gross Profit growth of 8.2%. The results demonstrate the impact of our strategy on our ability to grow at pace organically," said Ger Rabbette, CEO of Uniphar.

"We are progressing well towards our target of delivering €200m EBITDA by 2028 and are confident that over 80% of that growth can now be delivered organically.”

The board has also announced a €35m share buyback programme following Uniphar's disposal of Inspired Health and supported by the group's balance sheet and growth prospects.

Photo: Ger Rabbette. (Pic: LinkedIn)