PHOENIX revenue increases

• Total operating performance and revenue increased in the first nine months of 2016/17
• Adjusted profit after tax slightly below previous year’s figure
• Rating agency Fitch upgrades outlook to positive and confirms BB rating

The PHOENIX group continued its growth course in the first nine months of the fiscal year 2016/17. From February to October 2016, total operating performance, including revenue and handled volume, rose by 5.2 per cent compared with the same period of the previous year to €22.3 billion.

Adjusted for foreign exchange rate effects, the increase amounted to 6.4 per cent. In the first three quarters, revenue grew by €661.9 million to €18.0 billion, corresponding to a rise of 3.8 per cent (adjusted for foreign exchange rate effects: 5.1 per cent) in comparison with the reference period of the previous year. This growth in revenue is mainly due to the acquisition of Mediq Apotheken Nederland B.V. as well as to the business development in Northern and Eastern Europe.

In the first nine months, total income increased by €90.4 million to €1.9 billion. At €294.6 million, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) were below the previous year’s level by €45.5 million. Adjusted for foreign exchange rate effects, the acquisition and integration costs relating to the Dutch company Mediq, and tax audits for prior years, EBITDA came to €337.1 million and was only €8.3 million below the previous year. This was mainly due to noticeable margin pressure in several markets as well as special items. The adjusted profit after tax decreased by €11.4 million from €154.8 million to €143.4 million.

The financial result improved by €4.5 million compared with the previous year to €−33.3 million, owing to the further optimisation of the financing structure. Equity increased to around €2.8 billion, representing an equity ratio of 33.4 per cent. In August 2016, PHOENIX successfully issued a promissory note bond of €150 million over a term of five and seven years.

In December 2016, the rating agency Fitch confirmed the BB rating for PHOENIX and upgraded the outlook from stable to positive. Fitch based this classification on the leading position of PHOENIX in the pharmaceutical wholesale sector of numerous European markets and the growing presence of the company in the higher-margin retail sector.

“Thanks to ever closer cross-border cooperation and targeted acquisitions, PHOENIX is increasingly becoming an integrated healthcare provider across Europe”, said Oliver Windholz, Chief Executive Officer of the PHOENIX group, on presenting the quarterly figures in Mannheim. In Montenegro, PHOENIX acquired the pharmaceutical wholesaler Farmegra d.o.o. and the national pharmacy chain Apoteka Lijek PZU in the third quarter. In line with its expansion course, the company has entered another wholesale as well as retail market in South Eastern Europe.
 

Key figures of the PHOENIX group in comparison with the previous year’s period

¹ Total operating performance = revenue + handled volume (handling for service charge).