Billionaire Bastas’ Arrotex posts near 50 per cent rise in profit
Arrotex Pharmaceuticals, the country’s largest generic drug supplier, has recorded a near 50 per cent rise in profits in the year to the end of March as the supply of rapid antigen tests to New Zealand pushed up earnings.
Arrotex, which make about a third of the medicines dispensed under Australia’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme each year and holds a majority share of the country’s generic pharmacy market including the Chemists’ Own brand, is now part of DBG Health after billionaire business Dennis Bastas took full control of the company earlier this month.
The company produces treatments for hay fever, digestive health, as well as cold and flu. Bastas has a fortune of $1.32 billion, according to the Financial Review Rich List, up 30 per cent on the previous year.
Dennis Bastas’ wealth has increased more than 33 per cent this year. Nicole Reed
The company posted $104.2 million in profits in the 12 months to the end of March, accounts lodged with the corporate regulator this week show. That is an increase from the $69.6 million the company posted at the same time last year. It also clocked $1.5 billion in sales, up from $1.2 billion the year before and said it would be paying out $81.2 million in dividends.
Mr Bastas told AFR Weekend that much of the increase in profits was due to the supply of COVID-19 tests to New Zealand early during the reporting period, as well as an overall increase in market share.
“Supplying covid rapid tests to the New Zealand government might count for a third of pre-tax profit growth,” Mr Bastas said. “The rest is we managed to pick up a bit of new business to become by far the biggest player in the Australian generic pharmaceutical space, and increased our market share to 65 per cent.”
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