Marked surge in sales: Zur Rose Group grows 30 percent in the first quarter of 2018

Press release

Marked surge in sales: Zur Rose Group grows 30 percent in the first quarter of 2018

- Acquisitions and organic growth lead to a sales surge of 91.5 percent in the German
OTC sector

- Rx business in Germany continues to grow at double-digit rates

- Brand campaign significantly increases the awareness of the pharmacy DocMorris

- Zur Rose Switzerland accelerates growth to 9.3 percent

The Zur Rose Group continued to accelerate the strong sales growth of the previous year. In the first quarter of 2018, Group sales increased by 29.9 percent year-on-year (23.8 percent in local currency terms) to CHF 297.6 million. Organic growth in local currency was 11.0 percent. Both the Swiss market and the Germany segment contributed to the growth spurt.

Sales in Germany grew by 51.4 percent (39.0 percent in local currency terms) to CHF 169.9 million or EUR 145.8 million. The foreign share reached a new high of 57 percent. The main driver was once again the over-the-counter (OTC) business, where sales increased by 91.5 percent (75.9 percent in local currency terms). The reasons for this development were strong organic growth, the massive acquisition of new customers and the first-time consolidation of Eurapon and Vitalsana. There was also a positive development in the prescription drug business (Rx), which achieved an increase of 20.6 percent (10.7 percent in local currency terms). Particularly pleasing is the brand awareness of DocMorris, which has increased to 66 percent in Germany. The all-time high established by the GfK survey shows that the nationwide brand campaign is successful. The Group thus has by far the strongest brand in the drugs mail order business.

The positive performance of the 2017 financial year also continued in Switzerland. Despite regulatory price reductions, Zur Rose increased its sales significantly by 9.3 percent to CHF 127.7 million in the first quarter of 2018. In the doctors' segment, thanks to good overall new customer development, sales rose 6.7 percent, while with an increase in sales of 12.1 percent, the retail business continued to benefit from the specialty care business and the successful launch of the omni-channel strategy with the first inpatient pharmacies.

Sales figures (unaudited)

January to March, in 1000 CHF	1.1.-31.3.2018	1.1.-31.3.2017	Change
Zur Rose Group	297,633	229,120	29.9%
in local currency	23.8%
Operating Segment Switzerland	127,749	116,883	9.3%
B2B	94,484	88,569	6.7%
B2C	31,746	28,314	12.1%
BlueCare (1)	1,519	n.a.	n.a.
Operating Segment Germany	169,884	112,237	51.4%
Rx	76,650	63,553	20.6%
OTC	93,234	48,684	91.5%
Operating Segment Germany, in 1000 EUR	145,822	104'910	39.0%
Rx	65,794	59,419	10.7%
OTC	80,028	45,491	75.9%

1) consolidated as of 1 May 2017

Investor and analyst contact
Marcel Ziwica, Chief Financial Officer
e-mail: ir@zurrose.com, telephone: +41 52 724 00 64

Media contact
Lisa Lüthi, Head of Corporate Communications
e-mail: lisa.luethi@zurrose.com, telephone: +41 52 724 08 14

Agenda
24 May 2018 Annual General Meeting
15 August 2018 Half-year report (analyst and media conference)
24 October 2018 Q3 Trading Update

Zur Rose Group

Operating under the Zur Rose and DocMorris brands, the Swiss-based Zur Rose Group is Europe's leading online pharmacy and one of Switzerland's foremost wholesale suppliers to medical doctors. Through its business model, it helps to ensure safe, reliable and high-quality pharmaceutical care, while also excelling in developing innovative medicines management services to increase the effectiveness of the medication process. This creation of added value, the strong focus on patients and the commitment to supply medication at low cost for the benefit of payors and patients make the Group an important strategic partner for all healthcare stakeholders.

The Zur Rose Group is headquartered in Frauenfeld, from where it also serves the Swiss market. Customers in Germany and Austria are primarily supplied from Heerlen (NL). Furthermore, the Group holds a majority interest in BlueCare in Winterthur, the leading provider of networking systems in the Swiss healthcare market. Employing more than 1000 people at its various locations, Zur Rose Group generated revenue of CHF 983 million in 2017. Zur Rose Group AG's shares (ticker symbol ROSE, Swiss security no. 4261528, ISIN CH0042615283) are traded on SIX Swiss Exchange. More information at zurrosegroup.com.