Amcal parent Sigma Pharmaceuticals’ full year profits have slid on lower earnings and a broadly flat sales result, impacted by lower demand for Hepatitis C medication.

Underlying net profit after tax was down 10.5 per cent to $59.9 million for fiscal 18, while underlying earnings before interest and tax decreased by 10 per cent to $90.3 million.

Net profit for the year ended 31 January was up 3.5 per cent to $55.1 million as the business cycled a drop in one-off items.

Revenue was down 5.4 per cent to $4.13 billion, on lower demand for Hepatitis C medication, excluding which sales were broadly flat.

Chief executive and managing director Mark Hooper said that Sigma was positioned well in the coming years, despite “FY18 challenges”.

“This is an important turning point for Sigma, we are confident in our strategy and that the benefits will start to flow through from some of the strategic investments we’ve made and our commitment to infrastructure spending to make the business more efficient,” he said.

Sigma said it is continuing to invest in its retail brands, Amcal and Guardian pharmacies, to improve workflow and upskill pharmacists.

The business has also today announced the appointment of Goldman Sachs as a financial advisor to assist with merger and acquisition advice.

“We are committed to our strategy of diversifying our earnings, and whist we have made some inroads with small acquisitions in recent years, this appointment provides the resources and framework to accelerate the execution of our strategy,” Hooper said.

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