United Drug has said that group revenues and profits before acquisition and restructuring costs for the nine months to the end of June are ahead of the same time last year.
In an interim management statement, the company said that its international operations - especially in the US - performed strongly.
The company said that after its decision to list solely on the London Stock Exchange it conducted a review to consider if its results should be presented in sterling.
However, it has decided that based on existing and future geographic profit flows, it will continue to use euro as its reporting currency.
United Drug said that all parts of its sales, marketing and medical division traded strongly in the period under review. During the year, the division saw significant expansion both organically and through acquisitions, including Pharmexx and Expansis.
The company said the wholesale business in its healthcare supply chain unit on the island of Ireland continues to trade well. However, the pharmaceutical specials business in the UK has been hit by the introduction of a drug tariff on the most popular products in the market.
Its Irish speciality homecare business won a major Government tender to provide infusion services in patients' homes and has seen heavy investment. The company said that profits in this business have been hit by start-up costs and the lower than anticipated roll-out of this service.
Looking ahead, the company said it continues to expect diluted earnings per share for the year to September 30 - before costs associated with acquisition and restructuring - to be between 5 and 8% ahead of last year.
''The group also expects to deliver another strong cash flow performance in the year, which coupled with modest debt levels relative to earnings and significant financing facilities available, leaves the Group well positioned to support its future growth objectives both organically and through acquisition,'' the company said.
