October 31 (SeeNews) - Bulgarian drug trader Sopharma Trading [BUL:SO5] said that its non-consolidated net profit rose to 14.1 million levs ($8.0 million/7.2 million euro) in the first nine months of 2019 from 13.1 million levs in the same period of last year.
Sopharma Trading lifted its revenue to 584.6 million levs in the January-September period of 2019 from 541.3 million levs in the comparable period of last year, the company said in an interim financial statement on Wednesday.
The company held a market share of 20.66% on the total pharmaceutical market in Bulgaria in January-September. Sopharma Trading claimed a 29.36% market share on the hospital segment, and 19.18% on the pharmacy segment.
In the third quarter alone, Sopharma Trading's sales rose by 8.77% to 192.6 million levs, as sales to hospitals jumped 29.33% to 51.9 million levs. At the same time, pharmacy sales decreased by an annual 3.69% to 95.4 million levs. Sales of medical devices grew to 6.8 million levs in the review period from 1.9 million levs in the third quarter of last year.
The company's operating expenses in the first nine months of the year also increased, to 568.9 million levs from 526.8 million levs in the prior-year period. The rise was mostly due to higher cost of goods sold.
The company employed an average of 830 people in the third quarter of the year, up from an average of 820 throughout 2018.
Sopharma Trading's biggest shareholder at the end of September was Bulgarian drug maker Sopharma [BUL:3JR], with 73.03% interest.
Sopharma Trading shares are down 11.94% year-to-date. In comparison, the Bulgarian Stock Exchange blue-chip SOFIX index is down 6.49% year-to-date.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)