Almirall's profit falls 29% in the first quarter despite the boost from the dermatological segment
The drop in sales of over-the-counter medicines and general medicine in Europe weighs down the improvement of sales
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 decline are due to the evolution of turnover linked to over-the-counter (OTC) medicines 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 is due to the divestment that the company carried out in January last year of the Algidol medicine 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) decreased by 4.8%, to 67.5 million euros. However, Almirall's president and CEO, 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 multiplied by four in 2025.multiplied by four in 2025.
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 drivers of growth. The Catalan pharmaceutical company's dermatological 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 expenditure was very 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 ebita margin, the financial indicator that measures a company's operational 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 same Monday a capital increase against 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, against freely disposable reserves, of 40.8 million – about 0.19 cents per share – which will be paid by June 5 at the latest.
