Terry White planning float
April 22, 2016
WITH forecasts to double
pharmacy numbers in the Terry
White Pharmacy group, the
company’s ceo Anthony White
anticipates an initial public offering
on the Australian Securities
Exchange within two to three years.
Capitalisation is planned ultimately
to exceed $100m, he said, but in
the meantime debt will fund the
network’s expansion, according to
an ABC interview earlier this week.
White explained that Australia’s
demographic evolution plays
into the hands of pharmacy with
ageing and chronic disease, but
in addition, consumers are more
aware of and ready to invest in
their health than twenty years ago.
When challenged about the
possible introduction of UK and
US giant Boots Walgreen into the
Australian pharmacy scene, White
said the franchise system here is
highly competitive and will readily
face such challenges.
“Bring it on,” he said with a smile.
On the subject of deregulation,
White said that it would only lead
to greater concentration, as in the
case of supermarkets where an
oligopoly exists with two major
players controlling around 70% of
the business.
This is of course bad for
competition, he said, citing
hardware as another example,
emphasising medicine & supplement
pricing has consistently been
shown to be better for consumers
in pharmacy than in supermarkets
because of the intense competition
within the pharmacy sector.
On the matter of the viability of
the PBS, White was very strong in
clarifying the major contribution
the pharmaceutical sector has
made to the taxpayer of late, and
reminded viewers that the average
cost per head of the PBS has fallen
from $350 to $299 over the last
twelve months.
This means the sector is as
stretched as it can be in terms of
contribution, and there are some
warning signs of the struggle with
companies such as Apotex delisting
drugs which have suffered too great
a price drop (PD 14 Apr).
Finally, looking to the future,
White explained there needs to be
greater utilisation of pharmacist
skills, as well as their integration
into the primary healthcare
network to help manage increasing
chronic disease cost growth.
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