Rowlands Pharmacy has seen its losses increase by 440% in the year to January 31, its company accounts have revealed.
Documents published on October 13 showed that the pharmacy chain saw a post-tax loss of £1.76m, compared to just £326,000 the year before.
The company said the decline was “principally” due to “reduced item volume, over-the-counter (OTC) sales and reduced margin rate”.
Read more: Day Lewis sees ‘very pleasing’ 11% rise in pharmacy services income
According to the filing, the losses were offset by a “full year’s benefit” from the “outpatient dispensary (OPD) sites” Rowlands Pharmacy acquired in 2024/25.
It said the takeover of 46 new OPD sites helped the company’s turnover grow from £522m to £861m, an increase of almost 65%.
The documents also showed that NHS-commissioned services accounted for £522.7m of the pharmacy chain’s turnover, followed by prescription dispensing at £307.8m and OTC sales at £30.6m.
Read more: Boots pharmacy revenue dips as company’s overall profit grows
Meanwhile, gross profit fell by 26.3% this year, “primarily due to sales mix and sustained cost price pressures within the pharmacy market”, while operating losses hit £2.5m.
And personnel costs rose by 23.9% to nearly £96m, with the average number of staff employed by the chain growing by 12.7% to 3,377.
Company has “remained stable”
The directors of Rowlands Pharmacy said it has “remained stable” and they have a “reasonable expectation that the company will be able to continue in operational existence for the going concern period until September 30, 2027”.
They noted that the “current high inflationary environment” has had a “significant impact” on costs and profits “despite the increase in pharmacy funding for 2025/26 providing some support”.
“Management are focused on cost control to mitigate the effect as much as possible,” they added.
Read more: Well Pharmacy sees pre-tax losses of £21m in ‘challenging year’
It comes after Day Lewis’ accounts for the 2025/26 financial year revealed a “very pleasing” 11% rise in pharmacy services income.
And it follows Boots’ latest accounts revealing that the company’s revenue decreased by 0.4% for the year ending August 31, 2025.
