German pharmaceutical group Celesio has reported strong first-quarter sales growth at its Irish pharmacies and a drop in revenues from its Irish wholesale division.
Revenues from its 59 Unicare pharmacies in Ireland rose 20 per cent to €37.1 million between January and March.
However, turnover at wholesaler Cahill May Roberts declined by 1.5 per cent over the same period to €77.8 million.
The company noted that the prices reimbursed for pharmaceuticals were reduced in Ireland on March 1st.
Other changes in the market over the period included price cuts in the United Kingdom and the introduction of a new reimbursement model for pharmaceuticals in Norway in January. In the Netherlands, the prices for generic drugs were reduced by an average of 10 per cent, Celesio said.
The company did not break out profits for its Irish operations but said group pretax profits had fallen from €145.1 million to €88.6 million in the first quarter on lower UK sales and a weaker pound.
Net income fell to €57.6 million from €102.5 million a year earlier, the Stuttgart, Germany- based company revealed today. Sales declined 3.9 per cent over the period to €5.4 billion.
Celesio's shares have slumped more than 40 per cent since September, when the German company reduced its 2010 earnings goal because of lower reimbursements and fee payments in the United Kingdom.
Analysts said the results were behind expectations due to a number of factors, including discount competition in the German wholesale market.
Celesio had warned last month of lower earnings in the first half after sharp cuts in reimbursement prices for generic drugs in Britain started in October. However, today’s results still surprised analysts.
Shares in Celesio were trading down 5.6 per cent at €25.42 at 2.35pm, after hitting a low of €24.87 - the lowest level since August 2004.
