$29.1 million net profit after tax for the six months to 28 February.
Australian Pharmaceutical Industries has just released its first half results, with reported net profit after tax up 27.2% on the previous corresponding period. However that included a $2.4m loss on the company’s sale of its shareholding in CH2, so the “underlying improvement” was 15%. Total revenue was up 12.7% to just over $2 billion for the period.
API ceo Richard Vincent said the Priceline Pharmacy network expanded to 450 stores, with 25 added during the last twelve months. Total retail network register sales rose 7.2% including strong growth in dispensary, while comparable store sales were up 0.4%. He said Priceline gained market share in dispensary, skincare, OTC health and colour cosmetic segments.
“The strength of the Priceline Pharmacy brand continues to attract independent pharmacists to our network and the pipeline of potential partners remains robust,” Vincent said. API expects to add at least 20 additional Priceline Pharmacy stores during the current financial year, boosting the network to 462.
The company’s pharmacy distribution revenues were up 18% due to the new high-value hepatitis C medicines. Removing this effect and the impacts of PBS reform, the underlying growth was 5.9%.
The API board declared a fully franked interim dividend of 3.5c per share, an increase of 40%.
Vincent said the company anticipated that consumer sentiment is likely to remain more challenging than in previous years. “However we remain confident in our retail store pipeline and in reducing operational costs,” he said, with API expecting another year of record full year net profit after tax.
More details in tomorrow’s issue of Pharmacy Daily.
