Galenica continues sales growth

With a sales growth of 4.7% to CHF 1,314.2 million in the first four months, the Galenica Group made an excellent start to 2025. Galenica is thus building on the previous year’s performance and outperformed the growth of the overall pharmaceutical market of 4.3%².

As in the second half of last year, continued strong demand for GLP-1-based³ weight loss medications was a key growth driver. The widespread flu outbreak at the beginning of the year also contributed to sales growth, particularly for prescription drugs. Another growth driver was the distribution of new brands in the Products & Brands sector. Compared to the same period in the previous year, there was one less day of sales, with a dampening effect on sales of around 1%.

2025 outlook confirmed

Galenica confirms its outlook for the 2025 financial year with sales growth of between 3% and 5%, EBIT¹ growth of between 4% and 6% and a dividend at least equal to the previous year’s level.

Net sales of the Galenica Group January–April 2025:

Products & Care segment

Net sales in the Products & Care segment amounted to CHF 571.6 million in the first four months of 2025, an increase of 5.3% on the previous year. Growth was broad-based across the B2C and B2B segments.

Retail business sector (B2C)

The Local Pharmacies sector (excluding Coop Vitality) increased sales by 4.8% to CHF 450.8 million. The expansion effect on growth was 1.5%, and the pharmacy network was expanded by 4 pharmacies net. Adjusted for this effect, the sector grew organically by 3.3%. A widespread flu outbreak in the first quarter of 2025, which was reflected above all in sales of prescription-only medications, contributed to this growth. In addition, the strong demand for GLP-1-based weight loss medications since the second quarter of last year also continued. Demand for healthcare services in pharmacies also saw positive growth. Over 95,000 fee-based healthcare and advisory services were provided in the first four months – an increase of 13% on the previous year⁴. The generic substitution rate of Galenica pharmacies remained high at 77.3% at the end of April 2025 (December 2024: 79.2%).

The Pharmacies at Home sector recorded a slight decline in sales of 2.5% to CHF 25.1 million. This development is partly attributable to various adjustments to services and seasonal effects in Bichsel’s home care sector. By contrast, the Amavita and Sun Store online shops recorded pleasing year-on-year growth.

By way of comparison, drug sales from bricks-and-mortar pharmacies in Switzerland (prescription-only [Rx] and OTC products) grew by 5.3%² in the period under review. However, the non-medication segment of the consumer healthcare market saw a 0.4% drop⁵ in the period under review.

Professionals business sector (B2B)

In the competitive consumer healthcare sector, Verfora further expanded its leading market position in Switzerland with sales growth of 14.5% to CHF 55.4 million. Sales growth is also boosted by Cooper Consumer Health products, for which Verfora assumed sales responsibility at the start of the year. Organic growth in the Swiss market amounted to a high 7.1%. Verfora’s export business declined by 5.1% due to exceptionally high sales in the prior-year period. By way of comparison, the consumer healthcare market grew by 1.8%⁵.

In the Services for Professionals sector (+3.5%), the growth drivers were once again Lifestage Solutions and Medifilm its care homes and home care organisations.

Logistics & IT segment

The Logistics & IT segment generated net sales of CHF 1,086.2 million (+4.8%) in the first four months of the 2025 financial year. This segment comprises Galenica’s logistics and IT platforms and offers services to healthcare providers.

Wholesale sector

The Wholesale sector generated net sales of CHF 1,039.6 million (+4.8%) in the first four months of the year. Growth in the business with pharmacies amounted to 4.9%, while growth of 4.0% was achieved in the wholesale business with physicians. This slightly outperformed market growth. By way of comparison, the overall pharmaceutical market grew by 4.3%² in the period under review, with the physicians segment accounting for 3.7%² growth, and the pharmacy segment for 5.0%². The conversion of the ERP system at the Lausanne-Ecublens site was also completed as planned in March 2025. The focus is now on further stabilising the processes and exploiting the efficiency potential.

Logistics & IT Services sector

The Logistics & IT Services sector performed as expected with growth of 6.4%, driven in particular by an increase in internal IT services. HCI Solutions also performed well, registering 152.8 million CDS Checks (+33.8%) on the Documedis^® platform since the start of the year.

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1 Excluding the effects of IFRS 16 and IAS 19.

2 IQVIA, Pharmaceutical Market Switzerland, YTD April 2025.

3 GLP-1 stands for glucagon-like peptide 1, a hormone produced in the intestine, and plays an important role in regulating blood sugar levels.

4 New calculation methodology covering all advisory services, including vaccinations and other services such as preventive health checks. The previous year’s figure was also adjusted.

5 IQVIA, Consumer Health Market Switzerland, YTD April 2025.