The company recorded group revenues of E15.9 billion for the period, including the acquired businesses of Danish pharmaceutical wholesalers K.V. Tjellesen and Max Jenne.
EBITDA rose 8.6% to E595.5 million, helped by improved profits from the Pharmacies division and cost-cutting throughout the group. Celesio’s Pharmacies division, which includes British chain Lloydspharmacy, accounted for a greater share of the group’s overall profit than it had done in the previous year.
The company said that the European pharmaceutical market would remain a growth market, citing studies predicting growth of around 5% for 2006 as a whole. However, it added that government measures, particularly in Germany and France, were hampering market growth and consequently Celesio’s revenue growth.
It commented that Celesio Wholesale was expected to grow organically in line with its market, while the Pharmacies division would grow slightly ahead of the comparable market in 2006. Celesio also believes there are growth opportunities in the medium term for the Celesio Solutions division as pharmaceutical manufacturers increasingly outsource non-core services, such as logistics and marketing support.