SEVENUM (dpa-AFX) - The mail-order pharmacy Shop Apotheke has succeeded in returning to the black thanks to strong demand in the opening quarter. Analysts were pleased, because the Dutch online pharmacy has at the same time performed much better than expected in the first quarter of the year. The Board of Directors sees the company thus "in all respects" on a good path to the annual targets, as Shop Apotheke announced on Tuesday for the presentation of final figures.

On the stock market, the share continued its recent strong run in the morning and climbed 0.40 percent, but the stock thus remained below the high since the beginning of August 2022 of 94.86 euros, which was reached before the long weekend. In the year to date, the share price has now more than doubled, giving Shop Apotheke a clear lead over the other SDax members by a wide margin.

Jefferies expert Alexander Thiel reacted euphorically and spoke of a "monster" positive surprise in operating profit. He said the correspondingly strong increase in margin underscored the company's ability to move into profitability in its business model, which is dominated by over-the-counter products, while maintaining good cash flow control and a strong balance sheet.

Store Apotheke had already surprised experts with strong quarterly growth when it presented preliminary revenue figures in early April. Now, earnings figures have been subsequently released. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) rose to 8.8 million euros, compared with a loss of 4.3 million euros a year earlier due to high costs. Store Apotheke thus came out well ahead of market expectations, as analysts had on average only expected Ebitda of a good two million euros, according to a survey provided by the company itself.

The corresponding adjusted Ebitda margin improved by 3.8 percentage points year-on-year to 2.4 percent. Profitability thus came out at the upper end of the annual target range of 0.5 to 2.5 percent confirmed by management - at the same time, the margin was higher than at any time since the beginning of 2021. As previously announced, the Group benefited in the reporting period from January to March from a further growth in its customer base and significantly increased sales of over-the-counter products. However, sales of products for which a prescription is required also increased at a double-digit percentage rate. In German-speaking countries, demand is now as high as it was in the pre-pandemic period, it said. In addition to an improved product mix, efficiency gains and economies of scale also had a positive impact on margins, according to the company.

At the bottom line, Shop Apotheke was able to more than halve its net loss to minus 10.2 million euros, despite the fact that it was once again faced with write-downs running into the millions. The Management Board, led by Stefan Feltens, who is leaving the company at the end of the month, believes that both sales and earnings are on track to meet the confirmed targets for 2023. Following the strong start to the year, Baader analyst Volker Bosse now believes that Shop Apotheke will reach or even exceed the upper end of the target ranges.

Store Apotheke wants to continue its current upswing and become profitable again in its day-to-day business over the year as a whole. In addition to an increase in sales of up to 20 percent for over-the-counter products, the Dutch company is also hoping for good business with the upcoming e-prescription in Germany. The number of electronic prescriptions submitted continues to rise, the Group has now announced, reaching 1.7 million by the end of April.

The deal in Switzerland announced at the end of March is expected to bring further increases in sales and earnings, which are not yet included in the forecast. Together with the Galenica Group there, the Dutch company is pooling its capacities in the Mediservice joint venture. The deal is expected to be completed in May. Mediservice will thus be competing with the Migros retail group, which in turn is taking over the Swiss business of Shop Apotheke competitor Zur Rose./tav/nas/stk