Last checked at 11 May 2022 07:00
AGM Statement
Dublin, London | 11 May 2022
Uniphar plc (the "Company" or "Uniphar") is holding its AGM today at 11am BST at the office of William Fry, LLP, 6th Floor, 2 Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2, D02 A342, Ireland.
At the AGM, Maurice Pratt, Chairman of Uniphar, will make the following statement:
"I am pleased to say that 2021 was another successful year for Uniphar. The Group delivered a strong financial performance, in line with the Board's expectations, during what was another uncertain and at times challenging period globally. Building on a strong performance in the previous period, the Group delivered 8.5% organic gross profit growth, with growth across all divisions in line with, or ahead of, divisional guidance. EBITDA increased to €86.5m reflecting reported growth of 30% and the Group ended the year with strong liquidity and modest leverage of 0.7x.
Uniphar's ability to consistently deliver for our partners demonstrates the diversity of the Group's service offering and the benefit of the Group's focus and investment in technology platforms. We continued to advance our strategic objectives during 2021, building out our global Product Access platform and a pan-European platform in Commercial & Clinical, while simultaneously strengthening our market leading position in Supply Chain & Retail. This was evidenced through the completion of a number of acquisitions during the period: Devonshire Healthcare Services, E4H, CoRRect Medical and BESTMSLs. The acquisition of Navi Group ("Navi") is, as previously disclosed, subject to approval by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission ("CCPC"). Following the announcement by the CCPC on 22 April 2022 that it intends to carry out a Phase 2 investigation in respect of this acquisition, we now expect it to complete during the second half of 2022.
Uniphar has traded in line with the Board's expectations in the first four months of 2022 and we remain confident of delivering organic gross profit growth for FY 2022 in line with our medium-term guidance.
Once again, Uniphar colleagues worldwide have shown remarkable resilience and commitment, delivering for our clients and our shareholders while navigating the various challenges that Covid-19 presented. The needs of our customers, the pharmacies, hospitals, manufacturers and patients we serve were paramount during 2021. The dedication of our teams, and the manner in which they are supporting each other and responding to the needs of the communities in which they operate, has been exceptional.
Sustainability continues to form a key part of Uniphar's culture and business practices. Initiatives such as the Future of Work employee listening exercise, our second hugely successful Relay for Hope charity event, our commitment to setting transparent and ambitious carbon reduction targets through the Science Based Target Initiative and most recently our "Unity for Ukraine" campaigns are examples of our Group-wide initiatives in this area.
Our focus on improving corporate governance structures also continued in 2021 and in line with commitments made at the time of IPO, the Board resolved in early 2022 to adopt the UK Corporate Governance Code as the Group's corporate governance code and to align the corporate governance practices of the Group to that Code.
I would like to thank the staff, management and Board for the huge effort they have put in over the past 12 months, including their dedication and commitment in responding to the challenges of Covid-19, working through the crisis and supporting their national healthcare systems. Finally, I would like to thank our shareholders, executive team and all our teams worldwide for their loyalty, hard work and dedication during 2021."
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About Uniphar plc
Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, the Uniphar Group is an international diversified healthcare services business servicing the requirements of more than 200 multinational pharmaceutical and medical technology manufacturers across three divisions - Commercial & Clinical, Product Access and Supply Chain & Retail. The Group is active in Ireland, the UK, the Benelux, the Nordics, Germany, and the US.
The Company's vision is to improve patient access to pharmaco-medical products and treatments by enhancing connectivity between manufacturers and healthcare stakeholders. Uniphar represents a strong combination of scale, growth, and profitability.
Commercial & Clinical
In Commercial & Clinical, the Group provides outsourced sales, marketing & distribution solutions to multinational pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers. Active in Ireland, the UK, the Benelux, the Nordics, Germany and the US, the Group is growing with its clients to provide pan-European solutions, with a bespoke offering in the US. Uniphar has built fully integrated digitally enabled customer centric solutions that are supported by our highly experienced and clinically trained teams, leveraging our digital technology and insights which allows us to deliver consistently exceptional outcomes for our clients.
Product Access
In Product Access, the Group is growing two distinct service offerings: 1) "On Demand", which are pharmacy led solutions for sourcing and supplying unlicensed medicines to meet the needs of both retail and hospital pharmacists; and 2) "Exclusive Access", which are manufacturer led solutions for controlling the release of speciality medicines for specifically approved patient populations in agreed markets. The Group currently delivers product access solutions on a global basis.
Supply Chain & Retail
Uniphar is an established market leader in Ireland with c. 53% market share in the wholesale/hospital market, supported by a network of 378 owned, franchised and symbol group pharmacies. The business supports the diverse customer base through the provision of strong service levels coupled with innovative commercial initiatives. Supply Chain & Retail is an Irish only business for the Group, although the manufacturer relationships and infrastructure are also utilised for the benefit of Commercial & Clinical and Product Access.