We Care for Health – Our Passion, Your Investment
Pelion – a reliable partner in business
Q3 2011 was the last quarter in which the Company traded under the name of Polska Grupa Farmaceutyczna. On September 29th 2011, following the approval of the Extraordinary General Shareholders Meeting, PGF changed its name to Pelion S.A. Currently the new name is being registered with the National Court Register. The change marked the end of a years-long effort aimed to reorganise the Group's structure to ensure transparency of its operations and clearly determine the remits of the individual business lines. Each business line is run by a separate subsidiary, independently responsible for building its own value and brand. Such a solution will ensure management optimisation, transparency of settlements and cost savings. The new structure is meant to clearly emphasise that Pelion S.A. is engaged in wide-ranging operations on the healthcare market, while building sustainable value on the capital market , says Jacek Szwajcowski, President of Pelion S.A. In recognition of the consistently pursued restructuring process, the editorial board of the Home&Market economic magazine awarded Pelion S.A. the title of The Best Partner in Business in the Partner of the Year category. According to the judging panel, the recent reorganisation along with the change of the Company's name evidence that the Group's international expansion has been taken to a level.
PGF Urtica – the leader in supplies of medicines to hospitals
The hospital line is a crucial part of the Pelion Healthcare Group's operations. The line is managed by PGF Urtica Sp. z o.o., present on the Polish market since 1991 (since 1999 as a member of the Pelion Group). The Company is the largest domestic distributor of pharmaceuticals to hospitals. More than 80% of all Polish hospitals are supplied by the company. This would not have been possible without the consistently pursued policy of enhancing the quality of service. PGF Urtica offers full access to the widest range of pharmaceuticals available on the market, prompt deliveries (within 6 hours) to any place in Poland, competitive pricing, specialised and adequately equipped logistics network, ensuring delivery of pharmaceuticals in rigorously controlled conditions within a few hours of order placement, as well as financial support: hospitals are offered short-term financing on favourable terms, which improves their liquidity. Every day, the company's five branches (based in Wrocław, Łódź, Sosnowiec, Poznań, and Lublin) make about a thousand sale transactions, as a result of which more than 5,500 items are dispatched to hospitals from the central warehouse in Łódź. Within 12 hours, ordered goods are delivered, in specialised cars meeting the most demanding pharmaceutical standards, to approximately 650 hospitals throughout Poland.
PGF Urtica's offering is not limited to ensuring uninterrupted supplies of pharmaceuticals. The company is constantly improving the quality of its contacts with customers, introducing initiatives designed to facilitate their steady development. This attitude is reflected in instruments designed to enhance the financial liquidity of hospitals, such as the Promissory Note Programme and the Lending Programme. The programmes help hospitals to manage their liabilities and reduce finance expenses, while improving payment discipline.
The company runs a risk assessment programme, which enables it to manage sales efficiently and quickly respond to any changes in the hospitals’ financial standing. PGF Urtica's aim is to maintain strict payment discipline among its customers. The ongoing operation of the monitoring and receivable collection system allows the company to maintain the risk related to the receivables portfolio below the adopted delinquency rate.
PGF Urtica owes its commercial success to the widest range of medicines on the market, attractive prices, and specialised logistics network. Despite its established market position, every day the company keeps on working to improve the services offered. The company's objective is to remain the leader in pharmaceutical distribution to hospitals by fully harnessing its in-house potential, enhancing business processes, developing new business areas (such as clinical trials and radiopharmaceuticals), and setting new market standards. This objective is definitely supported by the applied process management and IT tools, the instruments offered to improve hospitals' financial liquidity, as well as marketing activities undertaken by the company.
Besides its core business, PGF Urtica actively participates in developing Polish hospital pharmacies and is committed to the life of the pharmaceutical and hospital communities. The company holds scientific conferences and publishes the ”Farmakoekonomika Szpitalna” magazine. An example of its CSR efforts is the ”Urtica for Children” (Urtica Dzieciom) project, designed to financially support the oncology and haematology wards for children. As part of the project, little patients take part in an arts competition. Works awarded in the competition are sold at a charity auction in Wrocław. Total proceeds from the sale of those unique works are earmarked for the needs of all the 17 children's oncology and haematology wards in Poland. The funds are used to purchase medical equipment, as well as a variety of other supplies for children patients: from games and toys, to teaching aids, which make the children's stay in hospital a more enjoyable experience. So far, the initiative has enabled to company to donate over PLN 1m to hospitals. Support offered as part of the ”Urtica for Children” initiative has more than just the financial dimension. Its primary value is the time devoted to the children suffering from cancer , claims Tomisław Bensari, President of the Management Board of PGF Urtica. Another unique, nationwide project of art workshops designed for young patients of the oncology and haematology wards is called ”Sunny Gallery” (Słoneczna Galeria). We decided not to incur promotional expenses and spend the savings on art classes for children in hospitals , added the President.
The table below presents the Q3 2011 financial highlights, along with the year-on-year comparative data:
| Q3 2011 | Q3 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales revenue(PLNm) | 1,627,772 | 1,454, 587 | 11.9% |
| EBITDA (PLNm) | 35,131 | 30,431 | 15.% |
| EBITDA margin(%) | 2.2%/TH> | 2.1% | +0,1 p.p. |
| Operating profit (PLNm) | 27,227 | 22,875 | 19.0% |
| Operating margin (%) | 1.7% | 1.6% | +0,1 p.p. |
| Net profit attributable to owners of the parent (PLNm) | 14,524 | 13,847 | 4.9% |
| Net margin(%) | 0.9% | 1.0% | -0,1 p.p. |
| Earnings per share (PLN) | 1.19 | 1.13 | 5.3% |
For further details please contact:
Renata Borkowska – Kubiak
Spokesperson for Pelion S.A.
Landline: (+48 42) 200 79 19
Mobile: 785 858 991
E – mail: renata_borkowska-kubiak@pelion.eu
