Day Lewis saw a “very pleasing” 11% rise in pharmacy services income for the 2025/26 financial year, its accounts for the year up to March 31 have revealed.
Documents published on September 11 show that the independent pharmacy chain, which runs 236 pharmacies across England as of March 31, also saw operating profits rise from £2.6m in 2024/25 to £11.1m in 2025/26.
But turnover decreased slightly from £506.8m to £502.5m over the same period, while gross profit was down £0.3m compared to the year before.
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Day Lewis said in the report that the business “capitalised on strong flu and Covid vaccination demand through targeted promotion and proactive patient outreach”, which contributed to service delivery growth.
It added that its “early investment” in weight loss services positioned the company to “convert the surge in patient demand into significant growth”.
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The chain said its dispensing numbers remained consistent with the year before at 29.3 million items, with repeat prescriptions continuing to make up 67% of its dispensing activity.
And it revealed that its administrative expenses increased from £120.5m to £124.9m in the last year, which it attributed to inflation, rental increases and rises in national living wage and “government-led national insurance increase”.
Branch footprint
Day Lewis said it continually reviews its “branch footprint” to balance customer need with “driving improved profitability”.
It said it looks to “take advantage of opportunities to relocate branches to superior locations, merge multiple pharmacies into larger single sites and dispose of pharmacies with particularly low footfall”.
The accounts show that Day Lewis owned or managed 236 pharmacies as of March 31, nine fewer than the year before, and had 2,330 employees - a decrease of 123 on the previous year.
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The company highlighted its “substantial investment” in introducing dispensing automation over recent years, through hub-and-spoke solutions and 24/7 prescription collection kiosks.
It said that to drive growth further, it plans to “grow the business in international markets” and “diversify investment into other pharmacy-related sectors”.
And it added that it aims to improve its “purchasing mix of medicines between generic and branded products” to enhance margins.
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It comes after Boots UK’s accounts in June showed that its pharmacy revenue decreased by 0.4% for the year ending August 31, 2025.
And it follows Day Lewis’ accounts for 2024/25 revealing pre-tax losses of more than £4 million despite a growth in sales from the 2023/24.
