Healthcare services group Uniphar has said it performance during 2020 was ahead of its expectations despite the "unprecedented and challenging period".
In a trading update, Uniphar said the group achieved organic gross profit growth of more than 6% for the year.
It said the organic gross profit growth was driven by the outperformance of its two international divisions - Product Access and Commercial & Clinical.
During the year, Uniphar bought the Hickey's pharmacy group which increased its group offering to 335 pharmacy members.
On coronavirus, Uniphar said the health, safety and well-being of its staff people continues to be the group's key priority.
It said the pandemic continued to emphasise the critical role Uniphar plays in the healthcare infrastructure.
"Our dedicated teams, strong manufacturer relationships, exclusive distribution agreements, robust logistical infrastructure and digitally enabled solutions have enabled the group to ensure continuity in the supply and distribution of medicines, medical devices and related services to the healthcare sector," it added.
Uniphar said it is well positioned to deliver organic growth across all divisions this year, with the additional benefit of the full year impact of acquisitions completed in 2020.
It added that the integration of these acquisitions is progressing in line with plans as the Group unlocks previously identified benefits.
Uniphar said that while it believes the current wave of Covid-19, and the resulting disruption, will not have the same financial impact as that of 2020, it continues to manage the situation very closely.
"Furthermore, the group is in a strong position to continue to invest in compelling growth opportunities and well placed to benefit from an acceleration in demand, post the pandemic," it added in today's statement.
"The board continues to explore strategically compelling acquisition opportunities, subject to strict financial criteria and consistent with its capital allocation priorities, to further enhance the group's growth potential," the company added.
Uniphar shares were higher in Dublin trade today.
