PIEX Group, a major leader in the distribution of health and well-being products in Africa, generated 144 million euros of revenues in 2022, a 6% increase on the previous year. This performance was achieved despite a difficult environment marked by very high inflation, numerous supply disruptions due to the conflict in Ukraine (more than €5 million shortfall in 2022) – particularly with its European manufacturers who are heavily dependent on countries producing active ingredients – and political instability in the Sahel countries.

Growth was driven by strong gains in several segments:

• Growth in certain ranges, such as infant formula (+40%), speciality ranges manufactured in Asia (+21.6%) and North Africa (+16.3%), cardiology speciality ranges (+12%), new ranges launched since 2018 (+58.6%) and injectable paracetamol (+80%);

• Growth in English-speaking sub-Saharan Africa (+32%) which is the result of several years of investment in this region: with Kenya (+75%), Tanzania (+72%), Nigeria (+46%) and Ghana (+11%, despite a major economic crisis and the devaluation of the cedi by almost 50% between January and November 2022);

• The good performance of Central Africa and Indian Ocean's French-speaking countries such as Burundi (+68%), Djibouti (+30%), Mauritius (+70%), the DRC (+42%), Rwanda (+73%) and Chad (+32%), which should become growth drivers when the dynamism of the largest west African markets slackens;

• In the major countries of the French-speaking zone, PIEX Group is outperforming the market, particularly in Senegal (+7% in a market which has not changed), Côte d'Ivoire (+8% compared with +4%) and Cameroon (-1.9% for PIEX compared with -8%, a decline which can be explained by the increasing complexity of import procedures and the renewal of marketing authorisations in this country). The quality of the product ranges, the dynamism of the local promotion teams and the total commitment of PIEX's partners to Africa, as well as the flexibility offered by PIEX Group to its partners, explain this good performance.

Economic outlook 2023

With further growth in the first half, PIEX aims to reach €154.3 million of revenues by 2023.

The alliance established in 2021 with Phillips Pharma Group for distribution in English-speaking East and Central Africa will continue to drive growth, as will the buoyant segments in 2022 mentioned above, to which should be added the parapharmacy division launched in 2020 at the height of the Covid crisis, whose contribution in 2023 will become significant, reaching €6.5m (up by more than 55% compared to 2022).

The specialist sales team that has been in place for 2 years now has created a new business in the sub-region, and its sustained efforts to boost a previously under-exploited portfolio are already reflected in the figures.

PIEX Group's financial objective is to pursue the profitable development of its activities while actively participating in market movements and developing lasting alliances with high-quality local and regional players.

Expansion of PIEX Group's activities

The PIEX Group's project will continue with the expansion of its upstream and downstream activities, with external growth projects covering the exploitation of drugs and the development of service activities in drug promotion.

Several acquisitions are under way or under consideration. They will enable the PIEX Group to strengthen its sales and profitability, with new companies whose margins on sales are higher than in distribution.

This expansion of PIEX's organic scope through selective acquisitions will be carried out with the aim of meeting the Group's main objective which is to provide access to quality medicines for as many people as possible. This can only be achieved through solid operational and financial performance, which are the only guarantees of a sustainable business.

Bertrand Talbotier, Chairman of PIEX Group, said: "PIEX Group's excellent financial health in a turbulent international environment underlines the quality of our company's fundamentals. We want to build on these fundamentals to conduct further our mission of guaranteeing equitable access to healthcare in Africa. In our view, this will involve developing a group that will integrate a distribution business for Africa, representing a broad portfolio of manufacturers and healthcare products, including essential services such as regulatory affairs, marketing, and medical promotion, but also market access, and the operation of marketing authorisations, all in West, East, and Central Africa but also in Southern Africa. Backed by solid financial partners, PIEX Group is ideally positioned to meet this challenge."