Euroapotheca revenue grows by 14 %
Euroapotheca Group, operating a pharmacy network in five countries, increased its revenue by almost 100 million – from 654 million euros in 2018 to 745 million euros in 2019, a 14% increase. The highest revenue growth was recorded in Sweden and Lithuania.
“After our record expansion in 2018, last year we focused on integrating the Swedish pharmacy network, finding synergies with other Group companies and developing our e-commerce business. We managed to keep revenue growth, while the successful development of online shopping in Lithuania and the launch of it in Latvia have created a strong foundation for further development of e-sales channels on the group-level”, – states Laimonas Devyžis, CEO of Euroapotheca.
Euroapotheca’s Swedish business demonstrated the highest revenue growth – 18% to 340 million euros. It was positively impacted by the successful reorganization of the local pharmacy network. In year 2018, Euroapotheca acquired the Apoteksgruppen network from the Swedish government. During last year, Apoteksgruppen successfully converted the chain of privately-owned franchised pharmacies into a single integrated network. Apoteksgruppen also increased the number of its pharmacies from 191 to 196.
In Lithuania, Euroapotheca revenue grew 15% to 264 million euros. The Group opened 7 new pharmacies and now totals 284. The strong revenue gain was also influenced by a significant increase in online sales – annual turnover of its e-shop increased by 43 percent.
“Last year we saw a tremendous rise of e-commerce. And this year, Eurovaistine.lt e-shop has become the TOP4 online store in Lithuania after the pandemic significantly reduced sales in traditional pharmacies. Though the quarantine had positive impact on online sales, we are also seeing a long-term change in consumer habits. Therefore, we’ll keep our focus on e-commerce business development in the coming years, not only in Lithuania, but also in all our home markets”, – says L. Devyžis.
At the end of last year, Euroapotheca also opened an online pharmacy store in Latvia – azeta.lv. It contributed to the annual revenue increase of 5% in Latvia, totaling 57.5 million euros. In Estonia, Euroapotheca’s annual revenue increased by 3.5% and amounted to almost 45 million euros. Meanwhile, in Poland revenues remained stable at 38.3 million EUR (EUR 38.4 million in 2018).
In its five home markets, Euroapotheca currently runs 675 franchised pharmacies (5 more in comparison to end of 2018) with a total sales area of over 45,000 square meters. The Group’s companies have 3845 employees.
The Group’s annual net profit in 2019 was 14.3 million euros, 20 percent less than in 2018, when it reached 17.8 million euros. This decrease was due to a change in the valuation of Euroapotheca’s business in Poland.
During 2019, Euroapotheca paid 30.8 million euros in taxes – a 11.5 percent increase over year 2018.
Euroapotheca is wholly owned by Vilniaus Prekyba Group – one of the largest trade companies in Central Europe.