United Drug has said its adjusted pre-tax profits for the year rose by 1% to €68.5m, while 12 month revenues also increased by 1% to €1.75 billion.
The company, which looks after supply chain, sales and packaging for the healthcare sector, said its adjusted operating profits increased by 4% to €76.8m after taking account of the various regulatory changes introduced during the year.
In a statement this morning, the company said its balance sheet was strong at the end of its financial year, with modest debt levels and significant capital resources available.
It said it would pay a dividend per share of 8.66 cent, up 3% on last year's dividend. United Drug said the increase reflected good trading performance and cash flow.
The company's chief executive Liam Fitzgerald said 2011 was an important year for the company. He said two-thirds of its earnings are now generated outside of Ireland and that the firm has taken steps to address the more challenging environment facing its Irish business with a restructuring that will deliver significant cost savings in 2012.
The company said that its group restructuring announced during the year will deliver over €5m in annualised savings at a cost of €7.8m. United Drug made 150 people redundant in recent months.
United Drug said it saw ''very strong performances'' in the sales, marketing and medical division, while it also saw a strong performance in its packaging business, especially in the US. It also expanded its service offering during the year with the deal to buy World Events, to provide global events management services.
United Drug's healthcare supply division reported revenues of €1.41 billion - 2% lower than last year. The company said that despite major healthcare austerity measures in Ireland, revenue in the wholesale business is in line with 2010 due to the continued growth in market share. The wholesale market has fallen in value by 4.6% during the year.
Its sales, marketing and medical division saw revenues grow by 19% to €199m. It said there has been an increased in opportunities for nursing services in the UK, but the Irish market has been more challenging due to price reductions and a shrinkage in the budget allocated to contract services.
United Drug's packaging and speciality division reported a 14% increase in revenues to €138m. It said the global outsourced packaging market continues to growth as the pharmaceutical industry seeks flexible solutions to manage their fixed cost base.
