Uniphar upbeat after successful 2023

(Sharecast News) - Uniphar said in an update on Thursday that 2023 was a successful year, as it doubled its 2018 pro-forma EBITDA, ahead of the timeframe it laid out at its initial public offering. The AIM-traded firm, which was holding its annual general meeting, said it had set an ambitious target to grow group EBITDA to €200m over the medium-term, leveraging strong organic growth and strategic acquisitions in line with its disciplined criteria.

It said that, to optimise growth opportunities and better serve its customers and stakeholders, it had reorganised into three new divisions - Uniphar Supply Chain and Retail, Uniphar Medtech, and Uniphar Pharma.

Financially, 2023 saw a robust performance, with organic gross profit growth of 5.6% driven by each division's growth.

EBITDA surged to €116m, reflecting a growth rate of 17.7%, while the company maintained modest leverage at 1.6x and achieved a strong reported free cash flow conversion of 78.5%.

It said its strategic capital expenditure in IT and ERP investment was underway, progressing as planned.

Mergers and acquisitions meanwhile remained integral to its growth strategy, evidenced by the acquisitions of the McCauley Pharmacy Group and select assets from Pivot Digital during the year.

"I am pleased to report a good start to 2024, with performance in the first four months in line with the board's expectations," said chairman Maurice Pratt.

"Uniphar remains well positioned to deliver organic gross profit growth across each division in line with previous guidance and to deliver expectations for the full year."

At 1213 BST, Uniphar shares were down 1.35% at 220p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.