11 September 2015 - Sigma Pharmaceuticals boss Mark Hooper says the business is in a “good position”, flagging earnings growth on the back of acquisitions and a shift from a reliance on the pharmaceutical benefits scheme.

The drug distributor and chemist group yesterday reported a 23.3 per cent increase in underlying net profit for the six months to July 31 to $18.8 million, and an 11.5 per cent jump in revenue to $1.67 billion.

“We had earnings growth of 10 per cent to 12 per cent last year and we should see the same again this year,” Mr Hooper said.

“We are doing a range of things in the business to drive similar gains in the years after that. We feel we have the business in a good position where we are seeing the benefits of both growth from acquisitions and growth from some of the initiatives we have implemented over the past couple of years.”

Mr Hooper said the growth in profitability had been achieved by the diversification of the business to be less reliant on PBS revenue.

For more details, go to: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/companies/smart-buys-and-pbs-shift-pay-off-for-sigma/story-fn91v9q3-1227521815316