Redcare Pharmacy Reports Strong Q1 2025 Results: Returns to Positive Margin While Sustaining Rapid Growth
Redcare Pharmacy has officially confirmed its robust first-quarter performance for 2025, validating the preliminary results shared in April and signaling a strong start to the financial year. The company demonstrated its ability to drive consistent top-line growth while simultaneously delivering on its commitment to improve profitability. These latest figures reflect a disciplined execution of Redcare’s strategic priorities across both the DACH (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland) and International segments.
In Q1 2025, Redcare Pharmacy achieved a 28% year-over-year increase in total sales, reaching €717 million, up from €560 million in Q1 2024. Segment-wise, the DACH region contributed significantly, growing by 28.5%, while the International segment followed closely with a 26.2% increase in revenue. This sustained growth across core markets underscores Redcare’s competitive positioning and operational resilience in the fast-evolving European online pharmacy space.
Beyond topline expansion, the company recorded a notable improvement in profitability. Redcare reported an adjusted EBITDA of €9.1 million for the quarter. Although this figure was lower than the €12 million posted in Q1 2024, it marked a meaningful turnaround from the fourth quarter of 2024, with the adjusted EBITDA margin improving by two percentage points to 1.3%.
CEO Olaf Heinrich on Strategic Progress
Commenting on the performance, Redcare Pharmacy CEO Olaf Heinrich emphasized the company’s ability to pursue balanced growth. “We committed to improving our margins this year while continuing to grow strongly in Rx as well as non-Rx, and already made significant progress towards achieving this in Q1,” Heinrich said. “Our results demonstrate the scalability of our platform and our commitment to delivering long-term value.”
A key driver of Redcare’s sustained growth is the rapid expansion of its customer base. The company’s active customers rose to 13.1 million by the end of Q1 2025—an increase of 1.9 million from the prior year and 600,000 from the end of December 2024. This growth reflects strong customer acquisition across all major markets. Meanwhile, Redcare maintained a high Net Promoter Score (NPS), a key measure of customer satisfaction, which stood at 64 at the end of Q1. Although this was slightly below the 70 recorded in Q1 2024, it remains at an elevated level, especially considering the company’s accelerated scale-up.
CFO Jasper Eenhorst on Capital Structure Optimization
Group CFO Jasper Eenhorst highlighted strategic initiatives to strengthen the balance sheet. “After the end of the quarter, on 8 April, we bolstered our balance sheet by successfully placing new convertible bonds with a seven-year maturity and buying back most of the existing outstanding bonds,” Eenhorst said. “By proactively managing our debt profile at attractive terms, we further strengthened the company and can continue to focus on executing our strategy.”
This financial maneuver saw the issuance of €300 million in senior unsecured convertible bonds with a 1.75% coupon and a seven-year maturity, redeemable at a 110% premium. The proceeds were used to retire around 70% of the €225 million in outstanding bonds due in 2028. This strategic refinancing has extended Redcare’s debt maturity profile and improved its financial flexibility, supporting its long-term growth and investment plans.
Margin Analysis and Operating Performance
Redcare’s gross profit for Q1 2025 rose 27.8% to €167.3 million from €131 million in Q1 2024. As a percentage of revenue, gross profit was 23.3%, slightly down from 23.4% a year earlier. This minor dip was attributed to the growing share of Rx (prescription) sales in Germany and changes in the country mix, both of which tend to yield lower margins compared to non-Rx products.
Adjusted selling and distribution (S&D) expenses increased to €139.3 million from €103 million, rising from 18.4% to 19.4% of revenue. This increase was primarily due to higher investments in the fast-growing Rx segment in Germany. At the same time, Redcare demonstrated improved cost discipline in other areas: adjusted administrative expenses fell as a percentage of sales to 2.7%, down from 2.9% in Q1 2024, reflecting gains from scale efficiencies. In absolute terms, administrative costs were €19.2 million, compared to €16 million in the prior-year quarter.
Despite these operating improvements, adjusted EBITDA declined year-over-year to €9.1 million, with a corresponding margin of 1.3%, down from 2.1% in Q1 2024. Depreciation expenses ticked up slightly to €16.8 million, while EBIT came in at -€9.1 million, compared to -€6 million in Q1 2024. The net loss for the quarter widened to -€11.6 million from -€8 million in the same period last year.
Cash Position and Liquidity
Redcare’s liquidity position remained strong. Total cash and cash equivalents increased from €97 million at year-end 2024 to €104 million by the end of Q1 2025. When including short-term financial assets, the company’s total cash balance rose from €178 million to €185 million. This was driven in part by a strong improvement in operating cash flow, which totaled €37 million in the first quarter, up from €21 million in Q1 2024—largely due to favorable working capital dynamics.
Segment Performance Overview
In the DACH segment, which includes Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, sales grew by 28.5% year-over-year to €583 million. Non-Rx sales saw solid double-digit growth of 17.4%, while Rx sales surged 49.6% to €234 million. In Germany alone, Rx sales skyrocketed to €108 million, representing a 191.3% increase from €37 million in Q1 2024. The higher share of Rx sales moderated the segment’s gross profit margin slightly, from 23% to 22.7%. Adjusted EBITDA for the DACH segment was €10.3 million, with a margin of 1.8%, compared to €16 million and 3.6% in the prior year.
The International segment, covering Belgium, the Netherlands, France, and Italy, also posted strong results. Revenue rose 26.2% to €135 million, up from €107 million in Q1 2024. Gross profit margins improved to 26% from 25.1%, driven by better product mix and purchasing efficiency. Adjusted EBITDA in this segment improved significantly, narrowing the loss from -€4.4 million to -€1.2 million, and the margin from -4.2% to -0.9%.
Governance and Upcoming AGM
Looking ahead, Redcare Pharmacy will hold its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 15 May 2025. As part of the ongoing governance refresh, Stephan Weber and Michael Köhler have been nominated to join the Supervisory Board, succeeding Frank Köhler and Henriette Peucker, who are stepping down at the end of their current terms. The convocation notice for the AGM has been published on the company’s website.
Redcare Pharmacy has reaffirmed its guidance for the full year 2025, demonstrating confidence in its business fundamentals and strategic trajectory. The company continues to project:
- Total sales growth of over 25%
- Rx sales in Germany to exceed €500 million
- Non-Rx sales growth of over 18% across the Group
- Adjusted EBITDA margin in the range of 2% to 2.5%
Looking further ahead, Redcare remains committed to its medium- to long-term goal of achieving an adjusted EBITDA margin of more than 8%.
