The online pharmacy Apotea today reports its interim report for the third quarter of 2026. Net sales for the period July to September amounted to SEK 1.99 billion, representing an increase of 12.5 percent compared to SEK 1.77 billion in the corresponding quarter last year. The growth was largely driven by prescription drugs, which increased by almost 19 percent, while sales of over-the-counter drugs and merchandise grew by just over 8 percent.
The turnover level means that the company is just below the listing from the second quarter of this year, when the online pharmacy exceeded two billion SEK in turnover during a single quarter.
According to the company's CEO Pär Svärdson, the focus remains on driving volume and availability towards customers. During the autumn, the company implemented, among other things, an expanded logistics initiative together with Airmee, where Apotea rolled out same-day delivery to a larger part of the population.
Growth continues to be our highest priority and we are continuously launching new initiatives to make it even easier and more attractive to shop at Apotea. An example is faster delivery to more customers, and since September we can now offer 3.7 million residents same-day delivery, every day of the week, writes Pär Svärdson.
Logistics in Varberg strengthens margin
On the bottom line, Apotea shows increased profitability. Operating profit (EBIT) increased in the third quarter to SEK 107.4 million, up from SEK 88.2 million the previous year. This gives an operating margin of 5.4 percent, compared to 5 percent in the comparative quarter.
For the first nine months of the year, Apotea has turned over nearly SEK 6 billion with a total operating profit of SEK 313.1 million.
The report highlights that the improvement in results during the quarter is largely explained by the new logistics center in Varberg, which has been in operation for just over a year.
A contributing factor to the strengthened efficiency is the successful establishment and scaling up of our logistics center in Varberg. The highly automated facility has now been in operation for just over a year and the efficiency gains have more than offset the increased depreciation following the investment, notes Pär Svärdson.
New daily record and expanded trade in Norway
The expanded logistics capacity has also meant new volume peaks for the e-commerce company. During the quarter, the company recorded a new record for the number of shipments dispatched in a single day, while an increasing proportion of the total volume is moved to the new facility on the west coast.
At the same time, the logistics center has strengthened our delivery capacity and created space for long-term growth. In September, we set a new record when we shipped over 90,000 packages in a single day. Today, around 40 percent of our packages are shipped from Varberg and work continues to scale up operations and optimize order distribution between our logistics centers, writes Pär Svärdson.
In addition to the Swedish core business, the report also highlights the development in the Norwegian market, where the company broadened its range within health and beauty in the spring.
In parallel, we are developing our focus on beauty and health in Norway through apotea.no. The offer was launched in the spring and during the autumn we have gradually increased sales. Although the initiative is still in its early stages, it has the potential to contribute to our growth over time, says Pär Svärdson.
In connection with the report, Apotea also announces that the company has maintained its humanitarian commitment in Ukraine. During the quarter, another 150 backpacks with emergency medicine were handed over, which means that a total of 1,500 equipped backpacks have been delivered to the front lines since the initiative started.