Services

The Services segment comprises logistics services for the Swiss healthcare market from Alloga (pre-wholesale), Galexis, Unione Farmaceutica Distribuzione and Pharmapool (wholesale), as well as Medifilm, which is active in drug blister packaging. These are complemented by services from HCI Solutions, which provides master data for the Swiss healthcare market and offers management software solutions for pharmacies. HCI Solutions also develops tools to securely manage, communicate and distribute sensitive health data and improve patient safety.

The Services segment generated net sales of CHF 2,372.3 million (+0.4%) in 2018. Excluding the effect of the price reduction measures for medications by the authorities
(–2.4%), sales growth amounted to 2.8%. This was achieved in an overall market whose growth (+2.2%, IQVIA, pharmaceutical market Switzerland 2018) was driven especially by the sales performance of hospitals (hospitals: +5.5%, IQVIA, pharmaceutical market Switzerland 2018) as well as by high-priced special medications that are for the most part not supplied via wholesale but directly to specialist doctors (doctors: +1.9%, IQVIA, pharmaceutical market Switzerland 2018). Price reductions by the authorities, which were higher than announced, and strong growth in generics also had an impact on the sales of Services.

The operating result (EBIT) declined by 12.5% to CHF 44.2 million due to one-off effects from 2017 totalling CHF 7.0 million that did not recur in the period under review (sale of rights of the medical practice software Triamed^® and a non-operational building in Schönbühl). Excluding these one-off effects, EBIT rose by 1.4% and return on sales (ROS) rose from 1.8% to 1.9%. Investments totalled CHF 36.1 million (previous year: CHF 27.0 million) and were used in particular for the new enterprise resource planning (ERP) software that is being rolled out progressively at Alloga and Galexis.