The international healthcare services business Uniphar has reported a 7.7pc increase in gross profits for the first half of the year, with all three of its divisions contributing.

There was a 7pc growth in pharma, a 9pc growth in medtech, and supply chain and retail were up 5.6pc, according to the half-year results to June 30. The listed company helps bring medicines to global markets, and assists healthcare professional to source them.

Revenue for the six months stood at €1.59bn, and there was adjusted earnings-per-share (EPS) growth of 11.2pc.

Uniphar’s board declared an interim dividend of 0.74c per share, a 4.2pc increase year-on-year. Bank net debt increased by €105m in the first half of the year to €276m, which mainly reflected the expected unwinding of prior-year working capital.

Ger Rabbette, Uniphar’s group chief executive, said it had delivered a strong first half, with continued growth in organic gross profit.

“Trading continues to be robust, and the business is developing in line with our expectations,” he said. “We expect to sustain this progress into the second half, and remain on track to meet our growth objectives for each of our three divisions for the full year.

“We also remain confident in our ability to reach our €200m EBITDA target by 2028, with at least 80pc of growth expected to be organic.”

The company says organic growth is calculated as the gross profit growth of the underlying business in the period, adjusting for the contribution from acquisitions and sales, in order to allow a like-for-like comparison with other reporting periods.

Uniphar says it is continuing to enhance global capabilities, and the final phases of development of new facilities in the Netherlands and UK will be finished this year. A high-tech distribution centre in Ireland will go live next February.

In its analysis, Davy said EPS growth of 11pc was the “standout metric”, and Uniphar is well positioned to achieve consensus EPS forecasts for its full financial year.

“In H1, EBITDA growth was held back by tough prior-year comparatives in the pharma division and the timing of some of its contracts,” Davy’s analysis said. “There was also higher op-ex, with a 5pc increase in the minimum wage in Ireland.

“The company has confirmed it is well positioned to meet FY2026 consensus EPS forecasts. This means it is able to absorb the impact of higher yield curves on interest charges. It also implies a sharp acceleration in the EBITDA growth rate in H2, which is more seasonally important, relative to the level achieved in H1.”