Celesio, the owner of the Unicare pharmacy chain, has said that the Irish market will be a focus of the group's acquisition activities, along with Belgium and the Netherlands, because the "optimum size for a pharmacy chain has still not been achieved" in these markets.

The German-based Celesio group, which has operations throughout Europe, also said sales at its drug wholesaler Cahill May Roberts grew by 8.8 per cent in the first three months of the year to €59.1 million.

Celesio said in its first-quarter results that revenue from its 56 Irish pharmacies grew by 1.4 per cent to €26.7 million in the first four months of the year.

On acquisitions, Celesio said it buys pharmacies in existing markets "provided they are in good locations and the prices are right".

Celesio, formerly known as Gehe, entered the Irish market with the acquisition of the Crowley's and Ryan chains.

The group followed those deals with the €152.4 million purchase in 2000 of 29 outlets in the Unicare chain.

Celesio does not publish profit figures for the Irish business but said in its results that the opening of new pharmacies by competitors in the Irish market "had an impact on Celesio pharmacies' business".

Earlier this week, it was revealed that Boots Irish operation, Boots Healthcare Ltd, made profits of €3 million last year, a fall of 25 per cent on the previous year.