During the first quarter of 2026, Apotea's net sales amounted to SEK 1.94 billion. This represents an increase of 10.5 percent compared to the same period of the previous year, when sales were SEK 1.75 billion. The company's operating profit (EBIT) also increased, reaching SEK 101.3 million, up from SEK 92.4 million in the first quarter of 2025. The resulting EBIT margin amounted to 5.2 percent.
The gross margin for the quarter was 28.3 percent, a marginal increase from the previous year's 27.7 percent. This development is partly explained by implemented campaigns and improved purchasing.
Apotea had a strong operating profit and stable growth in the first quarter, says the company's CEO Pär Svärdson in the interim report.
Launch in Norway
A new development for the quarter is Apotea's expanded market initiative in the west. The company is now launching its beauty and health range in Norway.
Another ongoing sales-oriented initiative is the launch of our beauty and health range in the Norwegian market under the Apotea brand, with distribution from the logistics center in Varberg, comments Pär Svärdson.
The initiative was launched in April. The stated ambition is to build a position in Norway and contribute to increased capacity utilization at the facility in Varberg.
Apotea operates e-commerce in Norway via Apotea.no and since 2022 the group has also operated in Norway through its Norwegian subsidiary Apotera.
Production in Varberg Increases
The logistics center in Varberg constitutes a central part of the company's infrastructure. Currently, more than one-third of Apotea's packages are delivered from this fully automated facility.
By increasing the number of worked shifts and broadening the range in Varberg, we have continued to scale up production and have been able to ship out approximately 27,000 packages on a single day at most, explains Pär Svärdson.
Regarding the market as a whole, it appears that e-commerce's share of the total Swedish pharmacy market amounted to approximately 27 percent during the first quarter. During the same period, Apotea's specific market share amounted to approximately 10.6 percent. The cash flow from operating activities for the quarter is reported at SEK 112.5 million.