More than £270m was lost by the company behind the Rowlands Pharmacy brand during its latest financial year, new documents have revealed.
L Rowland & Company (Retail) has posted a pre-tax loss of £271.6m for the 12 months to January 31, 2023, after making a loss of £29.1m in the prior year.
The business, which is headquartered in Runcorn, Cheshire, also made a turnover of £405.9m for the year, up from £403.6m. The firm is owned by Phoenix Group, which is headquartered in Germany.
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A statement signed off by the board said: "The operating loss for the year under review includes impairment of £216m (2022: £17.7m) following impairment testing. The impairments have been necessary due to the reduced profitability and the impact on future predicted cash flows arising in the business driven by the uncertainty of future pharmacy funding.
"As part of an estate strategy, a number of pharmacies were divested and a number of remaining branches were refurbished. The refurbishments are designed to improve accessibility to a range of healthcare services and products in the local communities and to encourage colleagues in pharmacies to spend more time interacting with customers."
The company added that the rise in its turnover was due to higher NHS commissioned services and improved over the counter sales which were offset by the impact of reduced prescription volumes. It added that its headcount decreased by 4.3% "primarily due to the divestment of pharmacies, efficiency savings and unrealised vacancies from increased attrition in the year".
