Celesio has reported an increase in revenue by 2% and EBITDA by 3.5% in local currency in the first half of 2009, as compared to the previous year.
For the divisional revenue, the Patient and Consumer Solutions division generated E1.68 billion from January untill June, which is 4.1% less than in the corresponding period last year. The reason for 5.3% lower revenue of E1.55 billion is currency factors in the Retail Pharmacies business area, whereas in local currency, a revenue increase of 5.5% was generated.
In the Pharmacy Solutions division, revenue fell by 1.8% to E8.49 billion in the reporting period, an increase of 0.9%. The main reasons for this were negative currency effects as well as lower revenue on the French wholesale sector due to intensified competition and state’s reduction of the wholesale margin introduced in April 2008.
In the Manufacturer Solutions division, gross profit increased by 1.3% to E80.8m in comparison to the first half of 2008 despite opposing currency effects.
Fritz Oesterle, chairman and CEO of Celesio, said: “In recent weeks we were able to announce our majority shareholding of Brazil’s number one pharmaceutical wholesaler as well as our entry into the Swedish pharmacy market. Today, we gladly report about good results – under the current circumstances – in the first half of the year. We increased revenue in the pharmacy sector in the United Kingdom by five% in local currency, although the country was especially affected by the financial and economic crisis. This is a good example for our ability to be successful even under rough conditions thanks to our motivated employees and convincing services.”
The management board of Celesio remains relatively optimistic for 2009, despite the challenges presented by the wider economy. In light of the performance to date and considering all the external factors, the management board expects to achieve an EBITDA of just over E600m for 2009.