Uniphar Share News (UPR)

(Sharecast News) - Uniphar reported a strong first half on Tuesday, with double-digit earnings growth and solid organic expansion across all three divisions, leaving the group on track to meet full-year expectations.

For the six months ended 30 June, the diversified healthcare services group posted revenue of €1.49bn, up 8.6% year on year, while gross profit rose 6.3% to €219.65m, reflecting 8.1% organic growth.

Adjusted earnings per share increased 21% to 9.8 euro cents, driven by underlying business growth, lower finance costs and the impact of a €35m share buyback completed during the period.

EBITDA rose 2.9% to €57.5m, while operating profit increased 5.6% to €38.47m. Profit before tax jumped 22.5% to €28.7m.

The interim dividend was lifted 6% to 0.71 euro cents per share.

Uniphar Pharma led divisional growth with a 10.6% rise in gross profit, or 17.6% on an organic basis, supported by robust demand in its Global Sourcing unit.

Medtech grew 7.5%, while Supply Chain and Retail gained 3%.

Group gross margins edged down to 14.8% from 15.1%, reflecting the disposal of Inspired Health in 2024.

Net bank debt increased to €197.5m from €147.7m at year-end, reflecting strategic capex spending and the share buyback, with leverage at 1.9 times.

The group extended its revolving credit facility to 2029 and secured a €150m five-year term loan in August.

"Uniphar delivered a strong performance in the first half of 2025 with adjusted EPS growth of 21% and organic gross profit growth of 8.1% with each division delivering in-line with their medium-term targets," said chief executive Ger Rabbette.

"Our uncompromising focus on solving our healthcare clients' challenges, together with our strategic investment programme, further enhances our capability to deliver strong organic growth into the future.

"We remain confident of achieving our target of €200m EBITDA by 2028 with at least 80% of that growth being delivered organically."

The company said it entered the second half with strong trading momentum and expects double-digit adjusted EPS growth for the full year, supported by ongoing investment in infrastructure, technology and strategic M&A opportunities.

At 1203 BST, shares in Uniphar were down 1.98% at 346p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.