Uniphar Group plc scooped the prestigious Company of the Year award at the fourth Irish Times Business Awards in Dublin last week.
In making the announcement, the Irish Times said Uniphar had defied the Covid-19 pandemic to deliver a 31 per cent surge in profits to €134.3 million in results for the first half of 2021 announced last September.
It noted the company had increased gross profit margin across the business – to 13.9% from 11.8% for the same period the previous year – on revenues of €964.9 million, up 10.7%. It added that the performance was driven by a combination of strong organic growth combined with value accretive acquisitions, which has become a feature of the business since it floated on the stock market in 2019.
Among recent deals highlighted, was Uniphar’s purchase of New York-headquartered BestMSLs Group in 2021, which provides outsourced medical affairs services, in a transaction reported to be potentially worth over €30m through a combination of upfront and deferred performance-based payments. It is seen as increasing Uniphar’s presence in the strategically important US market.
That followed Uniphar’s entry into Europe’s largest medtech market with the purchase of German group CoRRect Medical in mid-July in a deal said to be worth potentially over €25 million over four years.
It also noted that Uniphar now accounts for just in excess of one-fifth of the retail pharmacy market in the Republic.
Uniphar’s chief executive Ger Rabbette was chosen as the Irish Times Business Person of the Month for September 2021, which is run in association with Bank of Ireland.
The other shortlisted companies for the Company of the Year award included housebuilder Cairn Homes and life sciences group Malin. The award was presented to the company by Irish Times Business Editor Ciarán Hancock at a ceremony held in Dublin on Thursday 21 April.
Commentating on the award Ger Rabbette Uniphar Group CEO stated:
“It is an honour for Uniphar to be awarded the Irish Times Company of the Year – and this in turn is testament to the tremendous contribution put in by an outstanding team of people working at every level across this organisation. Uniphar has transformed over the past decade into a high-growth international diversified healthcare services company and trusted global partner for the world’s leading pharmaceutical and medtech companies. Our workforce has grown to over 2,900 colleagues with locations across Europe and the US and we deliver our services into more than 160 countries globally. I am proud to accept this award on my colleagues’ behalf.”
