The north’s largest independent pharmacy chain Gordons Chemist saw total sales surpass £100 million in its last financial year.
New accounts filed by its separate entities in Northern Ireland and Scotland show the family-owned business continuing to grow in the year to April 30 2023.
The company, which began as a single pharmacy in 1980 in Donaghadee, now has 64 stores in Northern Ireland and Scotland, alongside an online business, employing 879 staff in the latest trading period.
Most of the workforce (749) comprise sales staff.
The new accounts for the business, which is majority owned by James ‘JRP’ Gordon, show it underwent an organisational restructure in 2022.
It effectively produced two separate trading entities for its Northern Ireland business, which has 55 stores and its Scottish business, which has nine.
Turnover at Gordons Chemists Holdings (Northern Ireland) Limited rose 6.7% to £88.8m in the 12 months ending April 30 2023, producing a pre-tax profit of £6.4m.
That was marginally down on the £6.7m from 2022, largely the result of higher costs across the business.
The accounts show a tax bill of £1.76m on the profit.
Sales at Gordons Chemists Holdings (Scotland) Limited also increased by 6.7% in the latest year, reaching £15.65m.
That produced an operating profit of £804,000.
Turnover for the combined trading entities totalled £104.5m for the year to April 30 2023, around £6.6m more than the 2022 financial year.
However the latest pre-tax figure stated for the holding company in Scotland was stated as £9.5m, due to a dividend of £8.7m paid from the Northern Ireland business.
The accounts show Gordons added 31 staff in the 2023 trading period.
Based on the figures reported for the Northern Ireland business, the average wage increased by around 6.6% in the latest year.