Today, Meds Apotek presented its interim report for the third quarter of 2026. Net sales for the period July to September amounted to SEK 233.9 million, a decrease of approximately 6 percent compared to SEK 248.6 million for the corresponding period last year.
For the first nine months of the year, however, net sales have grown by 8 percent to SEK 807.4 million. The decline in the third quarter is explained by temporarily lower sales of self-care products in connection with the company moving its warehouse from Västberga in Stockholm to Eskilstuna, an establishment in a nearly 20,000 square meter facility that the company presented earlier this year.
Meds CEO Björn Thorngren highlights in the report the strategic importance of the new logistics facility, whose fixed costs are said to be at a comparable level to the previous warehouse.
The third quarter was marked by the move to our new logistics center in Eskilstuna, which was inaugurated on September 15th. It is our single most important establishment for the coming years. The facility nearly triples our warehouse space and gives us the capacity to triple turnover in five to six years, in line with our financial goals.
Start-up problems with partner change
According to the company, the technical parts of the move, including the transfer of automation equipment and IT systems from Västberga, were carried out as planned. The challenges instead arose on the personnel side. As Ehandel.se reported last summer, Meds signed a new agreement with Arena Personal for the staffing and operation of the logistics center in Eskilstuna.
The start-up of the new workforce was delayed, which created bottlenecks and longer delivery times during the quarter's end. Björn Thorngren states that the problems have now been resolved and that delivery times were normalized during October.
However, the training of new personnel in connection with the change of staffing partner took longer than we had anticipated. It affected both capacity and sales for a longer period than calculated. I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused our customers.
Despite the disruptions within self-care, sales of prescription drugs continued to increase by 15 percent during the quarter to SEK 43.5 million. Operating profit (EBIT) for the third quarter landed at SEK -4.9 million, compared to SEK -5.7 million last year. Adjusted for items affecting comparability related to the warehouse move, adjusted operating profit amounted to SEK 1.1 million, down from SEK 4.9 million the previous year.
Sees changing competitive dynamics
In addition to its own logistics restructuring, Björn Thorngren focuses in his CEO's statement on the competitive situation within the Swedish pharmacy retail market. He has previously been critical of state-owned Apoteket AB's e-commerce operations and questioned whether it has been conducted on market terms.
In today's report, Björn Thorngren notes a shift in the industry where more and more players prioritize profitability over pure volume growth.
The pharmacy market continues to grow and we are seeing a clear sobering up in the industry, where several players now prioritize profitability over volume. State-owned Apoteket AB has declared that their e-commerce, launched in 2006, is now profitable. This is positive for market dynamics and benefits primarily players with sound order economics and scalable logistics. That's where MEDS is well positioned.
Focus on stabilization before 2027
During the ongoing fourth quarter, Meds' primary operational focus is on stabilizing and optimizing the flows in Eskilstuna. The goal is to ensure a high delivery capacity during the important campaign period at the end of the year and into 2027.
Björn Thorngren concludes by emphasizing that the company's financial position remains strong after the investments in the new facility.
The company remains debt-free. Cash flow has been affected by the warehouse move but is expected to gradually normalize, especially after the campaign-intensive second half of the fourth quarter. Demand is stable, and with the logistics function in Eskilstuna in place, we have the capacity for the coming years' growth.