Help Net's profit margin down 51%

Help Net drugstore network registered a below 1% profit margin in the first nine months of this year, down 51% against the same time in 2007. "In the first nine months of this year, Help Net drugstores posted a 45 million-euro turnover, and will end this year very close to its initial 68 million-euro target. Against the same time last year, the turnover growth amounts to 38%," said Isabelle Iacob, Help Net's general manager. Iacob specified that the results were in line with initial estimates and that in the third quarter, growth had stood at 36%, against the same time in 2007. "Due to the exchange rate freezing at 3.32 RON per euro for over a year, which forced distributors to cut volume discounts to drugstores, the average margins for the drugs dipped to a level that fails to ensure a drugstore's profitability," Iacob added. This year, drug retail has been badly affected by the crisis in the drug distribution sector, so reaching the breakeven point is now a challenge for most players.