Latest news with #Uniphar
Irish Times
26-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Uniphar agrees to undertakings pending injunction hearing over alleged breach of agreement
Uniphar has agreed to certain undertakings pending a hearing in a dispute over an alleged breach of an agreement between the pharma giant and a pharmacy brokerage business, the High Court heard on Monday. The undertakings remain in place pending a hearing of an injunction application against Uniphar plc and Uniphar Wholesale by brokerage firm, Thera Pharmaceuticals, which claims the alleged breach is part of an attempted Uniphar takeover and a breach of its dominant market position. Dublin-based Thera seeks orders preventing Uniphar from blocking its trading account and from disabling or otherwise altering an existing system for sending real time stock updates to it. It says Uniphar has breached a brokerage agreement it has had with Thera since 2015. Uniphar has denied the claims. READ MORE Thera, part of the Navi Group, provides infrastructure to the purchasing power of a large group of retail pharmacies for ordering supplies from wholesalers like Uniphar which, with United Drug, account for 87 per cent of sales in the State. Thera says the consolidated group buying can negotiate discounts from suppliers like Uniphar. This means it can deliver to retail pharmacies significant savings and ordering efficiency compared to what they could achieve individually. The application to bring proceedings was made on a one side only represented basis last week to Mr Justice Brian Cregan who granted Thera permission to do so and returned the case to Monday. On Monday, Kelley Smith SC, for Uniphar, said the parties had agreed to undertakings pending determination of the injunction application and had also agreed a set of directions for the exchange of papers so that an early hearing of the matter could take place. Mr Justice Cregan approved the directions for exchange of papers and said he would put the case to the end of the week for the list to fix dates to see if a June date proposed by Ms Smith could be accommodated.
Irish Times
23-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Uniphar says lawsuit is designed to ‘damage' its reputation
Healthcare group Uniphar has said claims made in the High Court that it breached an agreement and abused its dominant market position to take over a pharmacy broker business are designed to publicly damage its reputation. The Dublin-listed group, which owns and operates large Irish pharmacy brands including Life and Hickey's, is the defendant in a lawsuit taken by Dublin-based Thera Pharmaceuticals. The Irish Times reported on Thursday that Thera Pharmaceuticals, part of the Navi group, is suing Uniphar in the High Court, seeking several remedies, including the restoration of its broker account. In a statement on Friday morning, Uniphar said it is 'disappointed' with 'unilateral stance' Thera has taken in the High Court action and 'categorically' rejects the allegations. READ MORE 'We honour our contractual obligations at all times, and we consider Navi's recent actions as designed to publicly damage our reputation and prevent or delay Uniphar from offering improved terms to customers in the market, in competition with Navi,' it said. 'Our customers remain our first priority and we will continue to provide the highest levels of service to them while we seek to address the allegations and defend our good name through the courts.' At issue in the case is an agreement between the group and Thera, which provides infrastructure allowing pharmacies to buy products from wholesalers like Uniphar, which Thera has claimed was unilaterally breached by the larger group. The deterioration in relations between the businesses followed Uniphar's takeover bid of Navi, which was blocked by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission in 2021 because it would substantially lessen competition in the markets. In an affidavit opened in court this week, Thera founder and director John Carroll said his company has had a brokerage agreement with Uniphar Wholesale since 2015. He claimed Uniphar, however, has its own electronic ordering platform that competes with his company's. Mr Carroll said Uniphar had, in recent times, made unilateral changes to its agreement, including the blocking of Thera's trading account. Uniphar is also attempting to manufacture, in breach of the agreement, a large €3.49 million liability designed to destabilise Thera, he alleged. Uniphar is also attempting to force certain pharmacies to route all their purchases through it or face being cut off at the end of the month, Mr Carroll said, adding that the defendants have made 'a strategic decision' to launch a multifaceted attack on the brokerage agreement and the business relationship to try to take over Thera's business and seeks to abuse its dominant position.
Irish Times
22-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Pharmacy broker claims Uniphar breaching agreement in attempted takeover
A pharmacy brokerage business has claimed in the High Court that pharma giant Uniphar is breaching an agreement in an attempted take over bid and abuse its dominant position in the market. Dublin based Thera Pharmaceuticals Ltd is seeking orders preventing Uniphar from blocking its trading account and from disabling or otherwise altering an existing system for sending real time stock updates to it. Thera, part of the Navi Group, provides infrastructure to the purchasing power of a large group of retail pharmacies for ordering supplies from wholesalers like Uniphar which, with United Drug, account for 87 per cent of sales in the State. Thera says the consolidated group buying can negotiate discounts from suppliers like Uniphar. This means it can deliver to retail pharmacies significant savings and ordering efficiency compared to what could be achieved individually. READ MORE On Thursday, Thera was granted permission to serve notice of proceedings on Uniphar plc and Uniphar Wholesale Ltd. It seeks orders against Uniphar Wholesale including that it restore its trading account, not alter the real time stock update system, from reducing credit terms currently available to certain pharmacies and prohibiting the ceasing of supply to certain pharmacies. The application was made on a one side only represented (ex parte) basis by Michael Cush SC, for Thera. Mr Justice Brian Cregan said it could come back to court next week. In an affidavit, Thera founder and director John Carroll said in 2015 the company concluded a brokerage agreement with Uniphar Wholesale which has been extended to 2028. He said that in the last 12 months alone, around €475 million worth of sales have been concluded within the agreement, representing he says 35 per cent of Uniphar Wholesale's entire sales. Both Uniphar Wholesale and United Drug have their own buyers' group electronic ordering platforms which are in competition with Thera, he said. He believes Uniphar is also investing some €160 million in a new 'best in class' warehouse to compete more aggressively. Mr Carroll said there has been a successful relationship between the parties going back more than nine years and Thera has grown the number of pharmacies buying from Uniphar from 240 to 600 in that time. In 2021, he said a heads of agreement was concluded whereby it was agreed to sell shares in the Navi group parent company, NaviCorp Ltd, to Uniphar plc. But this was blocked by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission on grounds it would substantially lessen competition in the markets. He said following the appointment of Ian Madden earlier this year as Uniphar Wholesale's managing director of supply and retail, a series of unilateral changes were made to the brokerage agreement. Mr Madden reports directly to Uniphar plc chief executive Ger Rabbette and acts on his instruction, he said. 'There has been a marked deterioration in the business relationship', he said. In April, Mr Madden wrote to Thera saying Navi 'had been identified as a high risk partner from an IT perspective and required a full IT security audit'. Mr Carroll said this was difficult to understand given the company has been consistently best in class on standards. The unilateral changes to the agreement immediately benefit Uniphar Wholesale's profit margins and is a clear abuse of its dominant market position, he said. Uniphar was also attempting to manufacture, in breach of the agreement, a massive €3.49 million liability designed to destabilise Thera, he said. He said Uniphar was also attempting to force certain pharmacies to route all their purchases through it or face being cut off at the end of the month. He said Uniphar's Mr Madden refused to go to mediation and this was of deep concern, he said. He believes the defendants have made 'a strategic decision' to launch a multifaceted attack on the brokerage agreement and the business relationship to try to take over Thera's business and seeks to abuse its dominant position. As a result Thera was seeking orders from the court restraining Uniphar Wholesale from continuing what Mr Carroll called 'its current campaign'.
Irish Times
08-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Three-quarters of large Irish companies have wage gaps in favour of men
Goodbody Stockbrokers , Cantor Fitzgerald, the Irish Aviation Authority and Uniphar's Allcare and Hickey's Pharmacy groups were among the 25 companies which reported the highest median hourly pay gap between men and women employees last year, according to data collected by Under the Gender Pay Gap Information Act , companies with more than 150 employees are required to create and publish a report outlining their gender pay gap across a number of metrics. Across the data for nearly 750 companies collected by approximately three-quarters of companies had a median hourly wage gap in favour of men with the largest disparity at Uniphar's Allcare Pharmacies of 60.4 per cent. Also among the five largest wage gaps was the Irish Aviation Authority, with a 54 per cent media pay gap, which, it said, 'primarily arises due to lower numbers of females in specialist aviation roles such as pilot and engineering roles, as well as low numbers in managerial roles such as accountable manager or nominated postholder roles.' READ MORE Goodbody Stockbrokers had a median hourly wage gap of 46.6 per cent, with its mean standing at 41.5 per cent. Goodbody said that 'fewer females than males continue to occupy the highest paid roles in the firm', with just 15 per cent of its highest paid quartile being women as opposed to 55 per cent of its lowest quartile. [ Gender pay gap increased at three government departments during 2024 Opens in new window ] The Irish wing of US investment group Cantor Fitzgerald had mean and median hourly pay gaps of more than 40 per cent, with women making up just 17 per cent of their top 25 per cent of earners despite making up 37 per cent of their total staff. Of the remaining companies, nearly 20 per cent reported a pay gap in favour of women, with the largest disparity in the Chief State Solicitor's Office which reported a pay gap of 40.18 per cent. The Economic & Social Research Institute found an average median pay gap of 30.9 per cent in favour of women, which it said 'reflects not just the higher proportion of females in senior roles but also the fact that pay scales are wider at senior levels.' Construction companies made up eight of the 15 companies with the lowest representation of women in the top 25 per cent of earners. Conversely, 12 of the 15 companies with the lowest representation of men in the lowest quartile of pay, are in the human health and social work activities sector, with women making up between 83.6 per cent and 96 per cent of the top earners. The data for nearly 750 companies was compiled from the individual reports by technology worker Jennifer Keane, founder of PayGap,ie, who said her experience of gender pay bias served as the motivation for the project. The project is the product of nearly 200 hours of work since the start of the year, she said, noting that, in her experience, nearly 15 per cent of the pay gap reports include errors or omissions. All organisations with more than 50 employees must also report on their gender pay gap for the first time this year and Ms Keane will look to expand her database when that happens, she said, noting that a State-run database for the information is due to launch this year.
Business Mayor
06-05-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
German election surprises break European shares hot streak
European shares snapped a 10-day winning streak as the pan-European STOXX 600 index closed down 0.2 per cent following electoral surprises in Germany. German shares counteracted early losses on Tuesday after Conservative leader Friedrich Merz was elected chancellor during a second vote in parliament after an unexpected initial setback. Despite the late rally, shares still ended the day lower. DUBLIN Dublin markets reopened after the bank holiday weekend and the Iseq All-Share index ended the session at 10,676.02, down .02 per cent. Healthcare services group Uniphar rose 4.4 per cent to €3.132 in reaction to tariff announcements on the pharmaceutical sector. The other big risers were software and consultancy business FD Technologies, seeing a rise of 1.87 per cent, and Origin Enterprises, up 1.71 per cent. Airliner Ryanair rise slightly by 0.18 per cent to €22.0, but could not outweigh the big fallers of the day, Kingspan who were down 1.52 per cent to €74.70, and the housing firms. Glenveagh dropped 0.85 per cent to €1.63, Irish Residential Properties Reit was down 0.97 per cent to €1.018, and Cairn Homes slid 0.74 per cent down to €2.00. Small cap engineering tools group Mincon was the biggest mover of the day rising 12.90 per cent to €0.42, following quarterly results. LONDON London's top financial index inched higher to continue its recent winning streak despite wavering during the trading session amid further concerns over US tariffs. The FTSE 100 was little changed at the close of play after they were boosted by takeover announcements and speculation. The FTSE 100 finished up by 0.01 per cent to close at 8,597.42, after it was particularly buoyed by reports that oil giant BP could be a takeover target. London stocks benefited from confirmation of a UK-India trade deal, as other major European markets were under pressure due to concerns that President Trump will announce more tariffs. BP shares finished up 1.4 per cent at 355.15 pence following reports that its rival, Shell, is exploring a possible acquisition of the oil and gas giant. Shares in London-listed Deliveroo rose by 1.9 per cent to 175.4 pence following news of its acquisition by San Francisco-based DoorDash, which saw the opposite movement in its US shares. Alpha Group also lifted in value after the financial services firm rebuffed a takeover proposal from US-based Corpay. The London firm closed up 8.5 per cent at 3,050 pence. Marks & Spencer shares slipped 4.7 per cent, dropping to their lowest level for almost a month due to the continued fallout from its cyber attack, which caused the retailer to pause all online orders. EUROPE The European benchmark, the STOXX 600 index, showed the impact of the German electoral surprises but uncertainty over tariffs also weighed, with investors attempting to keep up with US President Donald Trump's unpredictable trade policies. Trump said on Monday he intended to announce pharmaceutical tariffs over the next two weeks. This came a day after he announced a 100 per cent tariff on movies produced outside the U.S. The subindex of healthcare companies lost 1 per cent, with shares in heavyweight drugmaker Novo Nordisk falling 4 per cent. Vestas shares surged 8.9 per cent after the wind turbine maker reported an unexpected operating profit for the first quarter. Fresenius Medical Care jumped 5.1 per cent after the German kidney dialysis company reported first-quarter results above market expectations. On the downside, Philips fell 2.7 per cent after the Dutch healthcare technology company cut its profit margin forecast for 2025. Castellum slumped 6.2 per cent after the Swedish real estate group posted weaker-than-expected first-quarter results. Coloplast fell 6 per cent after the Danish medical equipment maker's CEO stepped down on Monday and it reported a second-quarter miss on Tuesday. NEW YORK Wall Street's main indexes declined during mid afternoon trading after Trump's announcement of pharmaceutical tariffs. Following the announcement, Eli Lilly and Merck dropped, Pfizer was also down but saw less impact from the announcement. In a bright spot, Constellation Energy leapt after its quarterly results, pushing the utilities indexes up with it. Shares of data analytics firm Palantir saw a sharp fall to the bottom of the S&P 500, as investors were unimpressed by the company's modest revenue beat and in-line profit. DoorDash was saw a fall after the meal delivery firm said it would buy Deliveroo in a deal valuing the British rival at about $3.86 billion. The U.S. firm's quarterly revenue missed estimates, disappointing investors. Ford Motor was the latest to suspend its annual outlook on Monday, joining a host of companies that withdrew their forecasts in April. The carmaker's shares reversed premarket losses and were last up about 4 per cent in choppy trading. – Additional reporting, Reuters, Bloomberg.
