SIGMA Healthcare yesterday announced a strong group building move with the acquisition of MPS, described as Australia's largest provider of dose administration aids to the aged care sector and community pharmacy across Australia (PD Breaking News yesterday).
The announcement coincided with the release of Sigma's half yearly results.
Company ceo Mark Hooper said MPS was a natural and compelling addition for the company, and enjoyed a market share of almost 20% - "almost three times that of its nearest competitor".
"We see tremendous opportunity to not only take a leading position in the dose administration market, but to achieve further growth in what remains a very fragmented market," he said.
MPS will draw product, services and support from Sigma's distribution centres across Australia, and provided a model that complements the Sigma Hospital Services and community brands, Hooper added.
The half yearly results announcement highlighted a 14.6% increase in reported earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to $42.8 million. The company's reported net profit after tax jumped 16.7% to $29.7 million, despite a 6.1% decline in overall revenue to $2.02 billion.
The decline was attributed to "a combination of the pull back in sales of the low margin Hepatitis C medicines, the exit of a non-compliant branded customer group, and general softer consumer sentiment".
Adjusting for hepatitis C drug pull back, the company said sales revenue was down 1.4%.
Return on Investment Capital was posted at an enviable 16.1%.
Shareholders will receive 2.5 cents per share dividend, payable on 5 Oct, with promise of a very positive outlook for FY19 to emerge from "a pipeline of initiatives".
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