Day Lewis saw a slight dip in its profits in the year to April despite a six per cent rise in turnover, its latest accounts reveal.

The pharmacy chain’s accounts for the year to March 31, 2024, which were published recently, show it made an operating profit of £14.2m compared to £16m in 2022-23, which it attributed to “impairment of the pharmacy fixed assets”.

Rising administrative costs, driven in part by high inflation, rent and energy costs,” also had an impact on performance but were “well managed,” said Day Lewis. Subsidiary company East Midlands Pharma’s move to new facilities were another cost driver. 

Turnover grew by 5.9 per cent to £502.1m, while pharmacy performance “remained strong” as it dispensed 28.3 million prescriptions in 2023-24, a 4.5 per cent like for like increase compared with the previous year. 

Zooming in on subsidiary company EM Pharma, the report said it had seen turnover grow by 13 per cent “through winning new business and growing its ear care brand to become the third largest brand in the UK”. 

The financial report adds that Day Lewis “continued to enhance our estate through relocating branches to superior locations, focusing on added value services, merging multiple pharmacies into larger single sites and disposing of pharmacies with particularly low footfall”.

P3pharmacy has approached the company to learn how many pharmacies have been merged or sold. 

Company director Sam Patel, who heads up the business along with his siblings Jay and Rupa, said the business has continued to invest in services and channel “free cashflow into upgrading key infrastructure” with an emphasis on dispensing automation and “operational resilience”. 

Two “key projects” are the 24/7 prescription collection kiosks installed in 77 pharmacies and “our investment in the pharmacy hub and spoke dispensing automation at the Croydon distribution centre,” said Mr Patel.  

He added: “The group maximises its margin by focusing heavily on its pharmaceutical distribution operations.

“The group purchases from multiple pharmaceutical manufacturers and self-distributes to its pharmacies in order to maximise margin wherever possible.

“In addition, Day Lewis distributes medicines in further external channels including the supply of generics to associated pharmacy retail groups and the global supply of medicines to offshore energy businesses, maritime, cruise and ambulance services.” 

Mr Patel said that with its “long trading history,” Day Lewis has “unique access to a wide range of drugs across Europe that it purchases for redistribution”.