LISTED consumer healthcare business Wellnex Life Limited yesterday reported a $9.8 million loss for the six months to 31 Dec, after pivoting away from pharmacy brokerage to focus exclusively on developing its own brands.
The company, which last month named Chemist Warehouse Chief Operating Officer, Mario Tascone (pictured) as Chairman, wrote off $3.369 million in goodwill relating to its Brand Solutions, Mr Bright and Setco offshoots after performing an "impairment assessment" which contributed to the significant half-year loss.
The six-month period was marked by the $21.36 million acquisition of the Pain Away brand, which Wellnex Life said had produced Feb sales of $1.43 million and the company's first-ever monthly operating profit of $301,000.
Revenue for the first half of FY24 was $5.7 million, all derived from wholly-owned brands and IP licensing, with the company saying the strategic decisions made will result in "increasing revenue, margins and profitability".
Wellnex noted the completion of a $3 million share placement at 2.8c per share, with the first tranche of $1 million already received by the company, and the balance to be paid this month.
Concentration on in-house brands and exiting the brokerage business has seen margins increase significantly to an average of 45% for Jan and Feb, the company said.
CEO George Karafotias said while it had been a challenging period, the first half of FY24 "was a pivotal moment for the company".
"There is a strong company focus to generate quality revenue that will add to the profitability of the organisation," he noted.
As of 31 Dec, the company had $9 million in current assets including $268,000 in cash, $2.9 million in trade receivables and almost $5m in stock, while current liabilities amounted to $15.5 million including $10m in trade payables.
As well as Pain Away, Wellnex brands include Wagner Health Liquigesic, The Iron Company, Wakey Wakey and Nighty Night.
The company has resumed trading on the ASX today with a share price of 0.0260 after a halt due to the late release of the half-yearly figures. BP
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