Almirall's profit falls 29% in the first quarter despite the boost from the dermatology segment
The drop in sales of over-the-counter medicines and general medicine in Europe weighs down sales improvement
BarcelonaThe Catalan pharmaceutical company Almirall closed the first quarter of 2026 with a drop in profits despite the good performance of its main business –the dermatology products segment– and a general increase in sales. According to the accounts published this Monday to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), the company registered a net profit of 15.3 million euros, 29.2% less than in the same period of the previous year.
The main reasons for this drop are due to the evolution of sales linked to over-the-counter (OTC) medications and general medicine, as well as an increase in sales costs. During the first three months of the year, Almirall's OTC and general medicine product revenues fell by 14.3% year-on-year, to 111.3 million euros.
A large part of these developments are due to the divestment that the company carried out in January of last year on the Algidol medication and the license of Sekisan syrup in Spain, an operation that involved an initial payment of 12 million euros and had a net impact of approximately 15 million euros on the 2025 accounts. Similarly, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) fell by 4.8%, to 67.5 million euros. However, Almirall's president and executive chairman, Carlos Gallardo, anticipated at the last shareholders' meeting that the company had built "solid foundations" to support its growth and predicted a "new era" of double-digit growth after profits in 2024 quadrupled in 2025 quadrupled in 2024.
The positive note for the group during this quarter was the improvement in sales in the dermatology segment, with products such as Ilumetri –to treat psoriasis– and Ebglyss –to combat atopic dermatitis– as the main growth drivers. The Catalan pharmaceutical company's dermatology products generated revenues of 179.7 million euros during the first quarter, 16.3% more than last year. As a result of these figures, the group's aggregate net turnover rose to 291 million euros, 2.2% more.
In line with the company's forecasts, research and development spending was quite similar to last year's, around 35 million euros. The company also managed to reduce general and administrative expenses by 1% – to 121.6 million euros – and improved the ebitda margin, the financial indicator that measures a company's operating profitability and is calculated by dividing gross operating profit by total revenue.
Dividend distribution
On the other hand, at the end of 2025, the company issued bonds for 250 million euros to restructure its debt and announced this Monday a capital increase charged to reserves, an operation that will allow the group to increase its share capital through its own funds without the need for shareholders to make new contributions.
In parallel, last week's shareholders' meeting supported the distribution of a dividend, charged to free reserves, of 40.8 million – approximately 0.19 cents per share – which will be paid by June 5 at the latest.
