McCauley pharmacy group posts €5.16m loss

Exceptional costs contribute to pretax loss

Exceptional costs at the expanded McCauley pharmacy group last year contributed to the business recording a pretax loss of €5.16 million.

In 2017, Carlyle Cardinal Ireland (CCI) acquired a majority stake in Sam McCauley Chemists.

The first set of accounts in the new ownership structure – LXV Remedies Holdings Ltd – show that it recorded revenues of €94.49 million from the date of acquisition, August 11th, 2017, to September 30th, 2018.

The accounts show the acquisition of Sam McCauley Chemists was worth €51.6 million. Former owner Sam McCauley still has a small stake in the new business, while chief executive Tony McEntee is also a shareholder.

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The accounts for LXV Remedies Holdings Ltd also show the CCI-backed group bought four other pharmacy firms for €8.5 million last year.

The group had 30 pharmacies at the time of the Sam McCauley purchase and has since increased this to 37.

The €5.1 million pretax loss last year takes account interest payments of €5 million and combined non-cash depreciation and amortisation costs of €5.3 million.

The business’s operating loss for the year totalled €109,778. Sam McCauley pharmacies accounted for €91 million of total revenues for the period.

Gordon Deegan

Gordon Deegan

Gordon Deegan is a contributor to The Irish Times