Sigma Healthcare has made significant progress in delivering on our strategic objectives following the foundational work undertaken over the last few years. Our strong progress goes towards validating our strategy to build a simpler and more efficient Sigma. With the infrastructure investment program finished, we are now moving forward on executing multiple plans to drive growth and margin expansion.
On Monday 29 April, we were pleased to release the Sigma Healthcare Annual Review and Annual Report for the financial year ended 31 January 2024. CEO and Managing Director, Vikesh Ramsunder reflected on the year noting that we have strengthened the core wholesale business, simplified our ways of working, reduced our cost of operating and this is starting to flow through to improved financial performance.
Operationally we have executed with excellence and also achieved internationally recognised ISO 9001 Quality Accreditation across our network, signifying our world-class processes and procedures to match our infrastructure. Additionally, we have maintained delivery in full and despatch on time metrics above 99% every month during the year, with a focus on world-class customer experience, which is a key pillar of our strategy. Our routes have been optimised to improve our delivery on time to customers, resulting in a reduction of 1.7m (annualised) kilometres travelled. While this is a great outcome for our customers, it also means a reduced cost to serve and a reduction in our environmental impact.
During the 2024 financial year we disposed of non-core interests to simplify our business. We have taken steps to further consolidate our franchise brands and rebuild our commercial teams. Last year we announced the discontinuation of the Guardian Pharmacy brand and enhanced support for our Amcal and Discount Drug Stores brands to actively grow these brands. In a highly competitive environment, we set targets to secure at least 300 Amcal and 150 DDS pharmacies in the medium term. Our private and exclusive label products form an important part of our strategy, with the past 12 months focused on product pipeline development.
A key highlight of the year was winning the 5-year Chemist Warehouse Group (CWG) supply contract in July and in December, we outlined a potential merger with the CWG, that if approved, will be truly transformational for Sigma over the long term. The investment market has responded positively to this announcement. From a customer perspective, it has the potential to create opportunities for Sigma to enhance the support we provide to pharmacy owners, helping them to profitably grow their business and better support their communities.
Vikesh said “This is an exciting period in the long and proud history of Sigma. I look forward to providing ongoing updates as we progress through what has the potential to be a truly transformational year for the business.”
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