Irish-listed healthcare group Uniphar has won the Company of the Year award at the fourth Irish Times Business Awards. The award is sponsored by Bank of Ireland.
Uniphar 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.
The company increased its operational margin across the business – to 13.9 per cent from 11.8 per cent for the same period the previous year – on revenues of €964.9 million, up 10.7 per cent, according to the results.
The performance was again driven by acquisition, which has become a feature of the business since it floated on the stock market in 2019.
Among its recent deals, Uniphar last year announced the purchase of New York-headquartered BestMSLs Group, which provides outsourced medical affairs services, in a transaction reported to be worth €30.2 million. 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 about €25 million.
Uniphar now accounts for just in excess of one-fifth of the retail pharmacy market in the Republic, but it is its international business that is expected to lead the charge for future growth.
Separately, Uniphar 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 include 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 night.
