Sigma Healthcare is expecting to launch a whopping 250-plus new products in the 2024/25 financial year, as it continues to make progress in its private and exclusive label strategy. The rapid rollout was revealed this morning as part of the company’s six monthly results announcement (PD breaking news), with CEO Vikesh Ramsunder also reaffirming full year guidance of up to $31 million in annual profit before interest and tax. The company’s net profit for the half to 31 Jul was $11.2 million – up from a $1.5 million loss for the previous corresponding period – with Ramsunder attributing the performance to Sigma’s progress in “driving operational improvement, simplifying its business, enhancing financial performance and executing its strategy to enhance shareholder returns”. He said securing the Chemist Warehouse supply contract from 01 Jul 2024 was an endorsement of Sigma’s improved service capability, while the profit was achieved despite an 8.4% decline in overall revenue, reflecting the benefit in the prior year from COVID-related sales of Rapid Antigen Tests. Sigma’s $11.5 million reported net profit after tax included an $8.8 million uplift from the disposal of the company’s hospital distribution business to CH2 (PD 10 Mar). Service standards within Sigma’s wholesale operations “have remained at a consistently high level for close to 12 months,” Ramsunder noted, with the business delivering 113 million units to customers over the first half with a consistent 99% Delivery in Full metric. “With our wholesale operations now effectively functioning, our focus has firmly shifted to driving our growth strategy,” he said. “We will focus on providing our brands with high standards of retail management and specialist pharmacy services support. “Our current objective is to achieve brand membership of 300 Amcal pharmacies and 150 Discount Drug Stores over the medium-term,” Ramsunder said. The private label strategy follows the recent recruitment of a “strong and focused team who have already developed a pipeline of over 300 products”, he said. Sigma is also aiming for further growth in its third-party logistics (3PL) operations, which have recently expanded to provide services from six Australian states to improve flexibility and speed to market for customers. Moving forward Sigma will continue to invest in its retail and private label strategy, divest non-core assets and “prepare the business to absorb the increased Chemist Warehouse volume”, Ramsunder added. Sigma declared an interim dividend of 0.5c per share. BP