Irish pharmaceuticals group Uniphar has said business performed in line with expectations for the six months to June 2020 at both a gross profit and EBITDA level.
In a trading update, Uniphar said that while the Covid-19 trading environment has given rise to significant challenges, it has also created several opportunities for growth across all its three divisions.
These new opportunities, coupled with over performance in certain service offerings, has resulted in the group delivering overall organic gross profit growth of 5% for the first half of 2020, the company said.
Uniphar said its Commercial & Clinical division continued to make progress during the six month period by winning new clients and leveraging existing relationships into new geographies.
This division was most impacted by Covid-19, due to non-urgent elective surgeries being delayed, but Uniphar said the diversity of its portfolio helped mitigate the impact.
Its Supply Chain & Retail division reported a "robust" performance during the period as the coronavirus highlighted the critical role this division plays in the national healthcare infrastructure.
This ensured that much needed medicines continue to be made available to patients without disruption.
"This division continues to leverage its high-tech wholesale distribution facilities, longstanding manufacturer relationships and scalable digital infrastructure, to maintain market leadership in the Republic of Ireland," Uniphar said.
"The fragmented retail pharmacy market in Ireland together with Uniphar's advanced digital solutions and our range of pharmacy support services presents opportunity for the division to grow," it added.
Uniphar also said it continues its strategy of becoming a leading global player in the Product Access market adding that integration of the Durbin acquisition is substantially complete.
During the six month period, the group completed the acquisition of Innerstrength Limited which it said further enhances its digital offering.
Ger Rabbette, Uniphar's group chief executive Officer, said that despite the difficult trading backdrop, the company continued to deliver gross profit growth across all its divisions and strong gross profit organic growth at group level.
"Our suite of digital capabilities continues to be a key strength as we navigate through the pandemic and adapt to the "new normal"," Ger Rabbette said.
"We continue to maintain a strong liquidity position and remain well positioned to achieve our strategic objective of doubling EBITDA within five years of IPO," he added.
