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Distance dispenser Pharmacy2U made a pre-tax loss of £5.7m in the year to April 2025 despite strong growth in its operating profits, the business’s latest Companies House filing reveals.  

Published yesterday (January 7), the annual accounts for the UK’s largest online pharmacy show that after a £5.1m tax credit was applied, the company’s loss for the year stood at £637,000.

These challenging figures for the 2024-25 financial year came despite continued growth in the company’s patient base, with nominations up 86.6 per cent year-on-year from 814,000 to 1,519,000.

There was a 45 per cent uplift in prescription items despatched, rising to 36.5 million items. Revenue climbed by 68 per cent to £334m, “driven by continued investment in marketing to attract new patients at a reduced cost per registration,” said the company. 

Gross profit rose by £37m to £89m, while the company’s operating profits increased from £1.96m to £5.6m year-on-year.

EBIDTA before marketing increased by 114.4 per cent to £25.8m compared to the previous year, while EBIDTA “post marketing and before exceptionals” increased by £7.4m to £14m. 

This growth was driven in part by the acquisition of key rival LloydsDirect, which completed in November 2024, as well as increased activity in the company’s Online Doctor division.  

The integration of LloydsDirect “was completed before year-end which delivered targeted synergies and contributed to the improved financial performance in the year,” said Pharmacy2U, whose parent company P2U Holdings made a loss of almost £10m in 2023-24.

The growing patient base saw distribution costs rise by £25m to £58m in 2024-25, while the company’s salary bill rose by £9.2m to £23.4m as the number of staff on the payroll swelled from 502 to 1,506. 

The company said it is “well positioned” to carry on growing its repeat prescriptions business as well as its consumer health and online doctor categories “and to play an enhanced role in multiple advanced pharmacy services”. 

While the “difficult macroeconomic environment in which we are currently operating” is cited as a key risk in the financial report, Pharmacy2U said it is “very encouraged” by Government’s NHS strategy and commitments to boost primary care services. 

“Reliance on NHS funding has also been mitigated by significant growth in private prescriptions in the year,” it added. 

“The company’s growth strategy combines organic growth with acquisitive growth in order to diversify revenue streams, expand the range of products and services offered to customers and improve profitability by leveraging existing scale to realise synergies,” company directors commented.