Alliance Boots, the UKÔÇÖs biggest pharmacy and beauty products company, has posted annual profits of ┬ú1 billionÔÇöonly the third UK retailer to do so.
The group, which was purchased in 2007 by private equity firm KKR for £11 billion, said the 13 per cent increase in trading profit made it confident of coping with subdued consumer demand across Europe in the coming year.
The supermarket group Tesco and clothing/foods chain Marks & Spencer are the only other UK retailers to have produced annual profits of over £1 billion.
Alliance Boots' revenue for the year ended March 31 rose 9.6 per cent to £22.5 billion, which included a 10.3 per cent increase at its wholesale arm and a 5.2 per cent rise at its health and beauty division.
Commenting on the results, Stefano Pessina, executive chairman, said: ÔÇ£Since taking the company private, this is our third consecutive year of double digit trading profit growth. Having invested more than ┬ú1 billion over the period, we are confident that we are building a platform for sustained long term growth.ÔÇ£Our strong financial position will enable us to continue to grow both organically and through acquisitions. We are increasingly establishing strategic partnerships with other leading businesses to accelerate our development, both in the UK and other markets.ÔÇØ
Andy Hornby, group chief executive, said: ÔÇ£Alliance Boots performed strongly in 2009/10, delivering a double digit trading profit growth, combined with a robust cash flow.┬áThis is a particularly good performance, given the challenging economic conditions we faced throughout the year.┬á ÔÇ£Although we are planning for consumer demand across Europe to remain subdued, we are confident about our prospects for the year ahead.ÔÇØ
The company also reported that its net debt fell by £645 million to £8.39 billion.
The companyÔÇÖs business in the Republic of Ireland was the only one of its international arms which did not record an increase in profits. The company said the fragile state of the Irish economy had affected retail sales.
Nonetheless, Boots plans to expand in Ireland, creating up to 300 new jobs.
Alliance Boots was formed in 2006 through the merger of the UK high street pharmacist Boots Group and the pan-European whole and retail pharmacy Alliance Unichem.
Alliance Boots employs over 115,000 people in over 20 countries around the world.
