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Cohens Chemist lost £9.2m in the 12 months to August 31, its latest accounts reveal.

The post-tax loss figure marks a slight improvement on its £9.4m loss in the 2023-24 financial year, the financial report from parent company Gorgemead shows.

Operating losses in 2024-25 stood at £8.5m, down from £9.5m the previous year, while turnover rose by roughly half a million to £250m.

The company, which operates over 200 branches, said its key performance indicators are gross margin, operating expenses to turnover, operating profit and EBIDTA.

Gross margin rose from 26.8 per cent to 27.2 per cent, while operating expenses to turnover held steady at 30.9 per cent.

The company’s operating loss as a proportion of turnover fell from 3.7 to 3.4 per cent, while EBDITA rose by £1.1m to £4m.

The directors commented: “The gross profit margin and operating expenses to turnover are considered satisfactory, reflecting a stable core operation for the period.

“Operating profit to turnover and EBIDTA have both improved as a result of careful cost management, mitigating the continuing increase in both cost of sales and overheads as a result of product shortages and increased demand, along with inflation.

“The directors will again strive to improve performance and profitability over the coming year by means of divestment restructure and acquisitions as appropriate.”

The company accounts reveal the price paid by Cohens to acquire the Whittles Pharmacies business in January, citing a “total consideration of £5.25m” for the regional chain’s eight branches.

A Well Pharmacy store was also bought in February for £395,000.

The directors said: “During the year the group strategically disposed of a store and closed and merged a number of other stores in the portfolio.

“The group continues to strive to promote the best possible healthcare to all the communities in which we are based by constantly training our staff to the highest standards; this said, we regard our staff to be the greatest asset to the group.

“All our pharmacies are equipped to deliver the pharmacy contract to the highest possible standard and we actively work with NHS England and local authorities in the promotion of additional healthcare services.”