Galenica AG (SWX:GALE)
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Investor Day 2025

Oct 28, 2025

Speaker 1

Dear investors, analysts, representatives of the media, dear guests here in the room, but also digitally on the screens. A very warm welcome to this Galenica's Investors Day. I'm Iris Müller, the head of corporate communication, and I have the honor of leading you through today's event here at Stapferhaus, well, Stapferhaus, the place that right now is completely dedicated to health and healthcare, project partners to today's exhibition. Maybe someone has already seen the exhibition. Just a few hands, well, you have the opportunity today. On the other hand, you didn't come here for a visit to the museum, did you? You want to hear about Galenica, and we've provided a multifaceted agenda for you, and we'll hear more about that from the host of today's Investor Day. Please welcome Galenica's CFO, Julian Fiessinger . Thank you, Iris.

A very warm welcome to Galenica's Investors Day 2025 to all of you. Very warm welcome here in the room and to the guests on the webcast. You said this is about health and the health system in Switzerland. And you'll have the opportunity to see our healthcare systems from different angles of perspective. We're here at Stapferhaus. The exhibition, Health First, will provide you with a surprising, humorous, and also contemplative view of our healthcare system. Here at Galenica's Investors Day, we look to a cost-effective, scalable part of healthcare. The healthcare system as an investment case, if you wish. We'll cast a glance at individual market trends, and you'll see how Galenica has developed against the backdrop of these trends so that we remain the number one healthcare service provider in Switzerland going forward. Our CEO, Marc Werner, will start by giving you a strategy update.

Then we'll drill down to the essential business areas: pharmacies, products and brands, logistics, and wholesale and diagnostics. You'll hear about the latest market trends. We'll show you the strategic initiatives that we're following in the individual areas and what we intend to achieve by that. Then I'll give you a general market outlook, an overview of the regulatory initiatives, and an update on our financials. And of course, feel free to ask questions after every presentation. After this event, you'll also have the opportunity of a tour of Stapferhaus together with us. So an intense, varied agenda. So glad to see all of you. Looking forward to spending the day with you. Back to Iris. You'll lead us through the day. Thank you, Julian. And we also have the market stalls. Just like two years ago, you have the opportunity for talks and to see the stalls.

So we have our management and Labor Team with us today. So the representatives might want to stand because not everybody would know you, I guess. So please take the opportunity to network over lunch while we're in the coffee break. We're in the Aargau, not in Zurich. But you can have a BP check, a diabetes checkup, and we'll show you how to manage your medication. We have a prototype of our latest pharmacy concept here that we've already used ourselves. Then a Labor Team has brought a robot that's the state of the art, and it doesn't even have a name. I'm going to call it Ginger for the day, and you'll see why later on. And KPT, our partner, is here for new insurance models to show you. Anything I've forgotten? No. We're ready to get going. All right, let's get started with the first part.

Thank you, Julian. Let us start with a look at our strategy, and we'll talk to Galenica's CEO. Please, a very warm welcome. Give it up for Marc Werner. Well, Marc. Transformation, that's the motto of our Investors Day. You've been with us for five years as a CEO. What does transformation mean for you? What do you think about it? Well, transformation primarily has to be fun in order to be integrated into the organization. For us, transformation, of course, is shaped by culture rather than technology. Technology basically follows cultural change. So it's not a project with a deadline or a start date. It's an attitude. It's a constant change, constant asking questions, constant development, and that's really a crucial point. And that means it's about people, our 9,000 staff. It's not about the managers or the board.

You have to build people, and then they build transformation for you. And of course, it's important that transformation is visible and tangible. That's a crucial element. Good point. Do you have any examples that you could tell us how it creates energy? Well, you mentioned the pilot pharmacy, the Apo 360. So on Saturday, we opened doors with a new pharmacy where we want to rethink pharmacy and take it to a new level because pharmacies have been looking the same for hundreds of years, and we thought that's no longer on in today's world. So we changed the customer experience, the way we deal with customers, how we interact with them, we change the purchasing experience, self-checkouts, and so on and so forth, up to a hands-on healthcare consultation so that the neighbor doesn't know what is going on. So that's a massive change.

A second thing you can see here on the slide, that's our swing space. If you've been to our headquarters, you will have seen us that we live on a construction site and have done so for quite a while because we're revamping our headquarters. And that swing space shows transformation, illustrates how we work. It's not the own office for the CEO or whatever. So we've created open spaces in a warehouse where we've integrated really the entire recycling where we reuse things for the new constructions. So it's got to do with cooperation and eye level. I tend to work at the cafeteria, you see, so that everybody may approach me and they see me, they come to me, they talk to me. So I'm not in a silo office. And the most important thing about transformation is the following. It's never an end in itself.

Transformation serves first and foremost the consistent and efficient implementation of the strategy, creating value in the process. It's not because we believe it's fun. It's all about the added value for all our stakeholders, and of course, that takes us back to our staff because we need motivated staff. It's the customers, of course, our patients. It's you, the shareholders, that we want to create added value for and we're the number one in healthcare in Switzerland, and therefore it's also about society. We want to break ground for a better, a more efficient digital healthcare system, so that really contributes to the strategy. You could take us on a journey through the most important priorities of Galenica, well, the Galenica story really is all about innovation and trends and shaping the future.

On the other hand, of course, we have a clear-cut strategy of what we are headed, and that's the entire strategy. There is no underlying value document or value proposition. This is what it's all about. This is how we try to lead the company. We do not mean to set boundaries by means of our network, but we try to unleash the energy of power and power of transformation. But we have those four things here, the added value on the top left. So digital, physical challenges, changes need to be developed. We want to have efficiency in the logistics network, and of course, the lab diagnostics business will be developed. And all these four fields, of course, come with their own KPIs, sustainability and success. It's about the efficiency of logistics.

It's about the pharmacies and to make sure that we have a sustainable business model that's a model for success, then we have shaping the future where digital healthcare system is being brought to the fore. We intend to digitize, but we also intend to interact with our network internally and externally. I believe we've come up with a leadership role over the past few years, and we are now in a situation where the digitization of the healthcare system is being brought forward by us together with our partners, and last but not least, pioneers in transformation. We want to be the best employer because we fundamentally believe that that attracts the best people, and they will create the best added values, and transformation will be shaped actively and sustainably. That's our strategy. Now, efficiency, that's one of the top priorities of the Galenica story.

The biggest transformation project is logistics with the switch to a new ERP system. Now, many companies are facing challenges when it comes to planning resources and facing complex project management like this. How has the launch been going for Galenica? If I look around the room, we've all worked for a few years, and we all know it's not the switch overnight in an IT project like that, so we're taking a step-by-step approach, and we've also seen it. We have to improve things once we press the button, and the important thing is to have your people on board, the personnel on board. There could be glitches and teething troubles, and you have to smooth that without the customer really noticing that too much. Of course, there will be teething troubles, and I'm convinced that we've been doing well, that we are doing well.

It's not just an IT project, you see. It's always an IT product plus a change project. As I can see, things are changing, and you have to get people on board. We have Alloga where we switched to SAP last year, and we boosted efficiency and the profitability, of course, that will have to come hand in hand with something like that is going to come by June next year in 2026. I'm convinced we're going to go for the switch in Niederbipp, and then we'll have a bottle of bubbly on that. It's like all the big IT projects. All right. The latest member in Galenica's network is the Labor Team. You acquired them this year. Why did you opt for the diagnostics business? That's a business where we didn't have so much dealings with. I'm proud of that.

That was an exemplary process. Now, we launched an internal strategy process, so how to develop our existing business better and how to tap into new business areas. And we identified some of these business areas. I'm not going to list them today, but one priority was the diagnostics business, and it was quite clear that it would make sense to really boost that. And we came up with a great team. Marc really analyzed the market thoroughly, and of course, you always need a stroke of luck. You have to find a partner who's willing to sell. And the Labor Team was ready to sell. We went to Goldach for the first time, and we saw that it doubled. So everything really fit together, and we're so proud and we're so happy to have a Labor Team on board.

and there are others who could explain that much more easily for you. Now, digitization is a big topic, of course. so health is not the branch that's best known for this kind of innovation. How can Galenica change this? and how can it make a difference? well, I do come from the world of technology, and throughout the past six years, I was observing the development, and I have to say that I was not surprised, and there's no point in avoiding the subject. I think that one thing that Galenica clearly has managed is the increase of efficiency and the added value. We were able to bring stakeholders together to create better end-to-end process, a better compendium with HCI Solutions. It's about a patient information system or doctor information system, which we can integrate properly.

And it goes from listing the symptoms up to an online appointment, advice in the pharmacy, integration of telemedicine, e-prescription, e-medication plans, a way in which we can manage these digitally. So it's an end-to-end process, and this process clearly creates added value because it will only work if it adds something positive for every single stakeholder on the market, which is something that we have managed. And we now need to move ahead, digitalize more, and be patient, which is not exactly my strong suit. Well, Galenica is now active on a very large spectrum, and we mustn't lose a general overview on the market. So what's the next priorities on the list? I think in recent years, we were able to significantly increase the value of our company. And at the same time, we were able to comprehensively renew our organization.

So from my point of view, we have an excellent position to start off with. We have built a strong team. We have simplified structures and processes, and we're committed to a value and performance-oriented culture. We want to continue this development. We want to be focused on our clients. We want to continue this development, ensure organic growth and further efficiency gains in logistics. We want to establish the diagnostics business, expanding in the home care sector, particularly in that part, which right now offers us a perfect starting position. So we want to expand. We want to become stronger, bigger, faster. And obviously, we do want to develop our diagnostics activities with the colleagues who are here and represented here today. We don't want to be fourth, which we are right now. So our target is definitely moving ahead and becoming better.

I think we have a good position in terms of our organization. We are able to react, and we've created a culture that is able to see change as a chance and as an opportunity. There's some changes that we already know. Others are still unknown, but every time it's a question of seizing the opportunity and create what's best for us. Thank you so much, Mark, for this insight into the strategy. Now we're taking time for the first Q&A session. Julian, please come join us. We will start by taking the questions from the participants here. Please wait until somebody brings you a mic. Please state your name and where you're from so that people participating in the webcast can hear you, and we will take your questions right afterwards, so let's start here. Let's take the first question. There is one here.

Good morning, Gian Marco Werro from Zürcher Kantonalbank. I'm going to be the icebreaker and ask the first question. In case of the Labor Team, which has been mentioned here, Marc, you said that our ambition lies not in the fact that we want to remain number four in Switzerland, but there's other big players in Switzerland, for instance, Unilabs, Sonic, Viollier. What's your take on this? How are they going to react if and when Galenica tries to consolidate that part of the market? Don't you think that they are on a quest as well and that they're going to raise their targets and that might create a battle around all those small and private labs? Well, it's in every trade. It's a bit of a battle. It is a fight. And yeah, obviously, there's some bigger players on that market, and we have listed those. We see them.

And I think that on a lot of levels, we do have a better starting position because we have a strong consolidation because of the status of Galenica in Switzerland. We are clearly well positioned on the side of the clients, and we mustn't forget that the main target group for such a group of clients is with doctors, with carers. And I think we're well represented there with a market share of over 30%. And I think that we have a strong position on the market, and hence we can show and prove that we know how to do it. And generally speaking, I think we can add something in terms of a market consolidation. And as you say, small laboratories might not survive the changing market, and we'll definitely keep our eyes open and move ahead in this type of consolidation. Thank you for having us.

That first question, there's another one. Thank you. My name is Jan Koch from the Deutsche Bank. I guess that my questions are going to be answered later on, but I'm still going to try. When we again mentioned the Labor Team, how much are you going to spend in terms of the consolidation in Switzerland? And are you excluding the fact that you might move into other European countries? That's my first question. And my second question concerns the pilot, I mean, the trial that we're kicked off on Saturday. Do you know anything about the initial client feedback? Do you think that that's going to add to your share? And if yes, by how many points? And how about investments? Do you want to? Will you invest?

Well, Julian, I think we're going to take that question later on when our three colleagues are on stage and when we talk about the APO side of it. But let's write down those questions because they're going to be answered. I think in terms of the Labor Team consolidation, you might want to add something. Yeah, glad you do so. We have no clear ABGs, but the fact is we want to grow, and we want to be attractive and profitable. In general, we have noted that this is a national activity, which is also due to the fact that right now we do not have a disadvantage. If we work with one of the biggest Swiss players, it's not going to disadvantage in the future if we move into an international field. Okay. Any more questions here? Over there. Thank you. Good morning.

The interpreter did not hear the name, but I have a question also about Labor Team. We are talking about a 10% share of the market. Do you have any target objective in terms of capital market, in terms of strategy? Could you add anything in terms of the strategy and what it looks like in that field? Is the market actually growing on a structural level? And what do I have to imagine when I hear what I'm hearing now? And could you say anything about margins? Because when we talk about 8%, it's probably lower than if there's more. So we need a bit more flesh. Well, you're anticipating a lot of things in terms of what we're going to present here. Labor Team, again, very briefly, what we're aiming for, we want to be number one, maybe number two.

In the long run, we want to target on that level that we are in that position. We still have quite a lot to do before we get there. I have to say that the other questions are very specific. Some of these points are going to be explained better in the presentation afterwards. I think we're going to come back if need afterwards. Okay. After each presentation, there's a Q&A question. I'd like to know if there's additional questions in the webcast. No, there are none in the chat. Okay. Let's move on to the next part. Thank you so much, Marc, for the first input on strategy. Let us continue with our first topic that we're going to drill down into. That's transformation for pharmacies. We have our trio in charge, Virginie, Stefan, and Daniele.

Their common goal is to position the pharmacy as the best port of call in healthcare. And they are going to explain that. And the next Q&A will be after the three presentations. We'll start out with Daniele Madonna, who's a pharmacist himself and is in charge of the best possible. Also, Daniele, the floor is yours. Well, there's almost no place in Switzerland where so many questions about health and healthcare are answered as in a pharmacy day after day. More than 300,000 patients go to a pharmacy every single day. About 1,830 pharmacies is what we have in Switzerland. They're there as a founding pillar of healthcare, easy to access with a personal touch and high skills. We have 381 pharmaceutical experts, and we're the clear number one in the market. This year, we're also celebrating the 20th anniversary of our Amavita pharmacies.

In March 2025, we open doors to the 200th Amavita pharmacy in the Ticino, which is my home canton. That development drives us to actively shape the future of the pharmacy landscape in Switzerland. The role of the pharmacy has undergone obvious change. Customer expectations are rising. The boundaries between in-person and online consultations have been blurred, and there is an ever-increasing shortage of skilled labor. If you want to hold your own in that environment, you need to rethink your pharmacy as a modern, integrated health partner and get away from just the dispenser of medicines. Now, how do we tackle that transformation at Galenica? Our strategy has three core goals. First, positioning the pharmacy as the first port of call in healthcare with a focus on consultations and services. Second, securing and developing the best staff. Third, investment into a consistent omni-channel strategy.

When we start with the first item, the pharmacy is the first port of call in healthcare, and I'll hand over to Virginie and Stefan later on for the other two points. While talking about developing pharmacies further, many things start with their role within the healthcare system. In Switzerland, a pharmacy on average caters to 5,000 citizens. So for many people, it is the first and most frequent liaison when it comes to healthcare questions. That proximity to the population is an enormous strength, which is decisive for us. The more we can clarify questions at the pharmacy, the less burden there is on the entire system from GP practices to emergency departments, and with the second cost containment package, the central government has strengthened the competencies of pharmacies even further.

Allow me to single out two topics out of that cost containment package that are important for pharmacies, namely vaccinations and interprofessional healthcare services. Allow me to start with vaccinations. Now, in the future, starting in 2027, the vaccines and the vaccinations that are carried out in pharmacies will be taken over by the basic health insurance if these are vaccinations that are in accordance with the Swiss vaccination plan, and the second topic that is highly relevant for us in pharmacy is interprofessional services, so that is all about the therapy adherence and therapy optimization, so this takes us to chronic patients, hypertonic patients, and what have you.

So in the future, you're not only supposed to carry out hypertension screenings in the pharmacy, but also adapt therapies so that the pharmacy may adapt therapies in close cooperation with GPs and also stay closely to the side of the patient. So that comprises medication analyses, again, in close cooperation with GPs. These new services will have to be developed in the coming years. We'll have to carry out studies to check for efficiency, purpose, and cost-effectiveness. And then the Ministry of Health will check that, and then it will be included in the catalog of services. We're working quite closely with pharmaSuisse to come up with these services. And at Galenica, we are ready for that change because we invested early on in the transformation from mere product selling and dispensing medicine towards consultation and healthcare services. Our holistic concept is Consultation Plus.

That's one of the keys to enthuse our customers and to add value. It's a holistic communication positioning concept. We have several components: marketing communication, the online journey, training the pharmacy teams, and shop fitting even, and by the end of 2026, Consultation Plus is slated to be the standard or the norm, rather, in all our pharmacies, and we're ready for the vaccinations. Today, more than 800 of our pharmacies have the technical certificate to administer vaccinations. That means that we can vaccinate basically all of our network pharmacies, and the figures show you that the demand for consultation is increasing massively: fee-based consultations, more than 150,000, and that's the number of fee-based consultation healthcare services in the first half of the year.

So Consultation Plus has enabled us over the past few years to convince the health insurance companies to include pharmacies as a port of call in alternative insurance models. So comparable to the role of telehealth for GPs. And several of the top names in insurance are already cooperation partners with us. And let me underline KPT in our cooperation. Starting on January 1, 2026, about 170,000 people insured with KPT may use the consultation offers in our pharmacies without franchise, no deductible. So KPT is also represented here today. You have the opportunity to hear more about that model over the break or on their stall at the first floor. And that will continue to boost the Consultation Plus. Our goal is to double the number of healthcare services in the coming three years.

These consultations frequently also lead to cross-selling, among other things, because customers can also get drugs and can buy drugs if needed. We've seen that the average goods basket of the consultation plus services is at about CHF 80 for one-third consultation and two-thirds going to products. And that's also an important element of long-term customer binding. Because, of course, we answer their questions, we provide solutions, and then customers will come back. Well, again, you have the time to use consultation plus services today. During the break, so you can have your BP checked, your ears checked with an otoscopy, or undergo a diabetes check. We have two colleagues here, Emre Sezer from the Amavita pharmacy in Brugg and Nathalie Bernard at the Coop Vitality pharmacy in Mellingen Royal Center. And that takes me to my most important point: top customer binding that requires top personnel.

How to secure that? That will be explained by Virginie. Merci. Now, even to do that, that's the question you're asking yourselves. It's such an important role that we have to fill. Do we have the people to reach our goals? Now, I will give you the update on that. What is it that we're talking about? We're talking about 6,000 staff in the pharmacies. So two main roles: pharmacists and assistants. And that's where we entered our transformation journey with them. We're going to take them on board. We are developing opportunities for them. So how did we do that? So for the assistants, we have developed what we call roles, so they can take on more responsibility. So they could have under them the personnel planning. That's quite interesting. Also monetarily. And so that's no longer the classic wall of hierarchies that you are familiar with.

So the roles that we've molded are in line with our strategy always. And someone from a pharmacy could explain that better. So we'll hear from someone from the west of Switzerland, and he's going to

[Foreign language]

[Foreign language]

Well, I'm especially proud that each and every one of them really has taken on at least one role in the pharmacy. So, as I said, young talents, training people, that's not enough. We really have to reward them if they show above-average commitment. And one of the projects close to my heart was to make sure that assistants can even become co-managers in a pharmacy. And more than 30 of our pharmacies are doing that. So they have an assistant as a co-manager.

And one of them with us, that's Emre, who's upstairs at the stall, and he's working to provide the checks for you. Oh, it's not only about pharmaceutical assistance, but also about the pharmacists that we have. We're talking about people who studied at a university, who have a degree, and we have to be there real early to offer them prospects. That's why we're offering what we call an assistant year. That's the practical year that they need to undergo. We can say about one-fourth of the students of pharmacy in Switzerland takes that year with us. And that, of course, means once they graduated from university, we can bind them to us, and we can flank out their career path. Because it's not enough to graduate. If they take, if we want to lead a pharmacy, they have to become FPHs. So that's a technical certificate.

That's two additional years on the job. And year after year, many of our well-trained pharmacists become committed there. Because two-thirds of our pharmacists have somebody who is in training. So in April last year, the last exam alone, we had 60 young talents that we sent to that exam. So we bound them to us. All right. That's the beautiful side where we are really committing ourselves to young talents. And you might want to ask, well, where's the efficiency and all that? A bit of an input on that. On the one hand, we have an internal stand-in pool. So we have 277 staff that work in flexible modules. So they're always on call, they're flexible when it comes to sites, and they go wherever they're needed. So that's fantastic because that means we don't have to have external stand-ins to stand in.

So that's a contribution to cost management, and another point to boost efficiency is that we work AI-supported, so in the goods management, first and foremost, and in the future in personnel management too. That's done throughout Switzerland, but also in the omni-channel, and that's where Stefan König comes in.

[Foreign language]

We're transforming that into a first port of call, as you've heard. It's also the first place for our customers. We have heard it from Daniele that in view of the demographic changes and lack in terms of medical personnel, it is very important to be able to provide this type of service. At the same time, we see that our customers are increasingly turning to digital channels. Around 80% of them go online before they turn to visiting a physical point of sale.

We know a similar situation from a lot of other trades and industries. So a lot of clients expect a seamless experience between the online and offline world, which obviously heightens the expectations in terms of the health market. As we have heard it today, everything that's going on, such as OTC liberalization, will accelerate this trend. From today's perspective, a liberalization in terms of a certain number of OTC medication that were available in pharmacies solely can now be sold through other sales channels or alternative channels in the future. Specifically, and according to current political discussions, this will affect those OTC medication that's not on the federal government's list of specialties, the SL list. This corresponds to a market volume of around CHF 900 million, with a stable to slightly declining growth. Practically speaking, 15% of Galenica pharmacy sales.

Galenica sees the OTC liberalization primarily as an opportunity because we have been investing for several years already into a consequent omni-channel strategy. We are focusing on three core elements. First of all, the joint venture with Redcare as a pure online player. Secondly, the development of our online shops and digital customer journeys. And thirdly, the investment into pharmacies as the place of the future. And I would like to go into more detail on the last two points. We have already talked about the importance of advisory services, and Daniele talked about it, but it's very important that in the same sense, we have a positive customer experience on site. We have already mentioned the new concept that's an internal, by the way, name, Apo 360 Future Pharmacy Experience. This is how we want to redesign the pharmacy experience at Amavita and Sun Store.

We want to become future-proof. In that sense, we are focusing on the customer experience in the pharmacy and more strongly on the different customer needs and the designing of the pharmacy. We are creating a triage system based on the individual needs, and we are introducing a new semi-private consultation area, thereby eliminating the current frontal customer interaction separated by the counter. We are integrating additional digital tools into the interaction between customers and pharmacy staff. In order to support this change in customer interaction, we are investing in our employees through targeted training. Last Saturday, and we've already talked about that, we have opened a new concept in the Glattzentrum in Zurich, and with this first pilot site, we'd like to gain a lot of insights into the customer behavior and their experience on spot.

We want to incorporate these into the further development while improving what needs to be improved. We are planning around five more pilot pharmacies by 2026 as the next steps, be it renovation or new pharmacies, and we want to implement these into the new concept at Amavita and also Sun Store. In order to give you a better idea of what the new pharmacy will look like, we have brought a mock-up, a prototype with us today. It's made of wood. It's not very three-dimensional, but it will give you an impression and a sense of touch and feel. Otherwise, I'm happily inviting you to come see us when you're near the Glattzentrum. This new pharmacy experience is embedded into a strong digital customer journey. A good example and an important milestone for linking digital and brick-and-mortar channels in the Galenica network is the prescription manager.

This is a practical digital aid for people with repeat prescription, chronic illnesses, or limited mobility. I'll receive information, I'm guided, and I receive help when needed, and at the same time, it's making the repeat prescription easier. It can happen through click and collect on site, or it can be delivered to your home. This type of service was launched at the beginning of 2025 and is now used by over 30,000 customers. This service can also be tested in our pharmacy on the first floor. You can buy one of your products or prescriptions. Obviously, it's going to be a simulation, but that's how you can test the service and get ready for the future. In case you already have a repeat prescription, this is your chance. In other areas too, we see a strong adoption of the digital omni-channel office that we are creating.

We are seeing a strong growth in terms of the click and collect orders by over 50% this year, and over a third of all consultation plus and vaccination appointments are now made online. We are hence confident that with the development of the new physical pharmacy experience and the digital offers, we are well positioned for future challenges and customer needs. As you can tell, thanks to this presentation, we're in the midst of transforming pharmacies. And it is together that we are continuing to develop our success and the pharmacy of the future. We are focusing on three key areas. First, more competence for pharmacies, and we're ready. Secondly, investing into employees. We create and promote and retain skilled workers. Thirdly, omni-channel for an optimal customer journey. We are where our clients expect us to be.

And all of this pays off in terms of customer satisfaction and their loyalty. It ensures the relevance of pharmacies within the healthcare system, and it secures skilled specialists and workers, as well as ensures that we can manage personal cost development. We are hence increasing customer satisfaction and gain market share. Thank you so much for this trio. And we're taking your question now. Stefan, there's a question that was asked because you were deployed last weekend. What's your experience? Well, my first experience was the fact that we were quite overwhelmed by the general interest we were witnessing there. So it was certainly a success in terms of the customer attendance in the Glattzentrum.

And this new area of semi-private consultation has definitely created a lot of interest, and a lot of customers said that it was indeed very comfortable to not have anyone next to them or behind them. And our colleagues on site confirmed that same experience because it honors their experience and competence within that frame and framework. And it's nice to see what happens in terms of this transformation. When we have a self-checkout, it actually works because we know through other sales sites that in the end, 10% of the client experience is affected by this. So anyway, after the very first day, I can say very good experience. Thank you so much. We'll do it like we did last time. We take your questions on site and then take the questions on the website.

Yes, you mentioned the liberalization of OTC medication, and I'd be very glad if you could give us an update in terms of the timing. In the past, it was delayed time and again, and in terms of the regulations, I guess it wasn't easy. So where are we at? Thank you for this question, indeed. It's a bit difficult to have a clear timeline. As of today, we think that as a next step, we will enter a consultation phase Law on Therapeutic Products in Switzerland and in terms of OTC medication. So that should happen by next year. And if that's the case, we think from experience that we'll end up somewhere around 2030 with the liberalization of these types of medication. Okay, two more questions. On the right side here. Thank you very much. The promotion of services within pharmacies.

What are the difficulties in terms of the legal framework? What are the obstacles? And what can we do to counter these? And secondly, the new concept. I'm not exactly clear. I don't understand exactly what the target is. Does the goal consist in reducing personnel on site of a pharmacy, or is that personnel going to be used differently? Well, I'm taking the first question. In 2017 and 2018, there was a first revision on therapeutic products, and that has added to our competence, such as vaccination or the prescription medication that we can hand over. So when those competences are ensured, we have to act. And that's how we develop Consultation Plus and how we have equipped and added to the competence of our personnel and our staff.

Fact, nevertheless, is that this subject has not been picked up by the insurances because in the beginning, we have to fulfill every regulation before that can be added to such a system, and one of the possibilities consists in adding these to an alternative insurance system, and that's where we want to start. In terms of the target of this new concept, I say that as usual, we have several goals, several targets. On the one hand, differentiation. We obviously want to position our pharmacy as a differentiating factor in terms of other pharmacies, but in terms of what we offer, how we offer, but we also want to raise the efficiencies and the way in which we treat our clients in a very differentiated manner, and obviously, we want, through all of this, to gain market shares. There's a question in the center. Thank you very much.

My first question is about vaccinations. You said that almost all Galenica pharmacies should be competent and give vaccinations. Do you have any idea or indication if other pharmacies have that same possibility, and can you explain to us what it means in terms of financial impact? Well, with the revision of the law, the pharmacies have been enabled to vaccinate, but in order to do so, the pharmacists, or the ones that had finished before 2020, they have to do an additional training, everyone can do that, and the new pharmacists who are studying now, who have almost finished, they have that included in the base course, so in theory, all pharmacists can vaccinate if they are habilitated to do so. You do need a cantonal authorization, but if you request it, you receive it.

The one big difference is about mostly the type of vaccination that can be used. And there's differences between the cantons, meaning that it's the medical service of each canton that authorizes the type of vaccinations that can be done. And we see that as we move on into a bigger liberalization, cantons allow more and more of these vaccinations. And with the second package of cost reduction, we see that all of the current vaccinations are going to be recognized and added to the list, which adds to the pressure on the cantons. And obviously, you need to have the right space. You need to invest. And I think it's difficult among the 1,800 pharmacies to state clearly how many actually vaccinate, but I'd say about two-thirds of them are allowed to.

In terms of the cost, the service as such has a value of CHF 20-CHF 30 per pharmacy plus the actual vaccine, and the vaccine goes anywhere up from CHF 15-CHF 25, I think in the case of tetanus, and can reach some hundred CHF when we talk about combined vaccines. And just to follow up on that, of course, the vaccinations, that's also true for other services. We're not adding personnel to do that, so that's quite an attractive margin, and on top of that, we're boosting loyalty, and you can sell other products as well. In itself, it's not an essential refreshing, but it will strengthen our overall business and boost our margin. Now, on Consultation Plus, you mentioned about CHF 80 on average per customer. How much is incremental? Naturally, because the patient will have been your customer before.

And so do you have any figures that could really underpin that in terms of the incremental increase? Well, that's quite difficult. But you have to see that people would have turned to a general practitioner, but they turn to the pharmacy and are being catered to. So if there is an incremental sales, yes, there is, but we haven't measured it. So there was a question in the front, in the first row. Could we get back to that modern pharmacy and the options you have there physically in terms of how you set that up? How would that be possible at all to build something like that? And e-prescriptions and repeat prescriptions. Now, you mentioned Amavita, but how would you differentiate yourself from MediService? Because after all, that does exist too.

Now, of course, what we're trying to do is that a concept like that is supposed to work in different pharmacies, and that's what we're trying to achieve next year. Glattzentrum, of course, is a bigger format, a bigger pharmacy, and we believe that the basic underlying thought of a pharmacy like that can also be realized in a smaller pharmacy. So we're quite convinced of that. And on repeat prescriptions, given we can take a look at the e-prescription manager. Now, basically, what we're trying to do, Amavita, Sun Store, and Coop Vitality, what we are trying to achieve is that everyone who has repeat prescription use that and as a differentiation from MediService. The more specific demands that are being met, that you wouldn't find everywhere these days. Now, the prescription manager, though, is for everyone. Now, let's see whether we have questions online.

So we're opening up the opportunity for you to ask your questions or to enter them. Now, right now, there are no questions. Well. Oh, no. That's the last question before we continue. Let me get back to the first port of call pharmacies. Now, for health insurances, we can see that they're trying to achieve that with telehealth to drive down costs. Now, my question is, does that work? Are there any glitches? Because healthcare insurance could really boost that and say, "Turn to the pharmacy. Don't go to the doctor or to the hospital." Well, that's true. And that's going to come our way. So we can see in the individual models that we have, and you see more of that later on. So we have more bigger collectives. As I said before, it's 170,000 people that we can address.

And then for KPT alone, and then other insurance companies will have to do something. Now, the pharmacies in the past were not part of that system. But now we're on a par with GPs and telehealth. So we fought for an equal say for pharmacies. So bigger cooperation so we can achieve more, and the health insurers will advertise that more in the future. And that will come our way in the coming months. Wonderful. Thank you so much, Virginie, Stefan, and Daniele, for your contributions. All right. Take a coffee break now. So please use it to get your system going because if you head up the stairs, you find the market stalls, coffee, and a few energy boosters. Have a look at Ginger the Robot. Have a look at Labor Team. Downstairs, you find the restrooms. And we'll continue at 11:30 A.M. here and online. See you then.

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And that's a good sign. And I hope you are all back also online. I told you 11:30 A.M., but it's really 11:15 A.M. So let's get started, I'd say, and have a look at the healthcare market, which is characterized strongly by societal development. Thomas Szuran is going to show why self-optimization prevention is not just fads, but real opportunities also for Galenica. Thomas, over to you. All right. Let's have a look at the consumer healthcare market. 46% of the Swiss population plan to do more for their own healthcare. And 75% believe their health competence is high or very high. But just 11% feel really healthy. That's a consumer portal, GFS. Health Portal? That's a wonderful entry into the world of the consumer healthcare market.

People want to take care of their own health. They want to do something for it. That means our market is growing, and I have been in healthcare for about 30 years, and I feel it's almost never been as exciting as today. The market is changing. Needs are changing. The demand rises in new channels and categories, and that's the environment that our subsidiary, Verfora, and its subsidiaries, some have been added, is moving, and let me give you an insight into the developments we're seeing at Verfora, how into the market and how Verfora is moving in this environment. Let's have a look at the developments in the market there first. What are we seeing? As I said, prevention is becoming ever more important. People want to take care of their own health these days earlier, and they do prevention.

Then self-optimization and longevity are strong drivers in that market. We want to remain fit in our old age. We want to be high performers. We want to look good. And that means that the market has an answer before that. The customers are ever better informed. After Dr. Google, we're now increasingly seeing Dr. AI. But the market also is becoming volatile, and loyalties waver. Now, demographics, for once, not talk of our aging society, but of our young people who have completely new demands. And they move totally different in the entire digital world. And omnichannel strategies, we've heard about that. From pharmacies, consumers are showing cross-channel movements. So we have to live up to that. Of course, there are challenges. Margin pressure springs to mind. The price sensitivity of customers has increased. They're looking for the cheapest possible channel. Purchasing is becoming more expensive.

So there are regulatory changes, changes in the needs and demands of our customers. Quite obviously, if you see these trends, identify them, and consistently adapt to them, you'll win. And of course, Verfora is going to do that. Let me turn to Verfora now. In brick-and-mortar professional trade, Verfora is the clear number one. We're about twice as big as numbers two and three together. And we were founded in 2017. And in 2018, 2019, we developed a clear-cut strategy and have been consistent in implementing it, as Mark said. We had a strategy. We found a target, and we're implementing it. And one of our goals at Verfora was to grow organically with our core markets. And Algifor, Triofan, and Anti-Brumm have provided for that. You'll be familiar with these brands. They come up with a 50% plus in sales on 2018.

The second growth, an organic growth. So we intended to acquire or license interesting brands or companies in that sector too. You can see that here. All of these brands have been added. It's about 20. So about 20 extra brands that we added. Complementary medicine, for instance, that has been outperforming the market. We took over Spagyros in 2022 and Padma and Sidroga, exclusive license for the brand Omni-Biotic, the fastest growing market thing in the market. And we have them on board. The latest example that you can see on the right-hand side is the distribution partnership with Cooper Consumer Health that was launched at the beginning of 2025. So if you have a look at the strategy, in 2019, Verfora has managed to more than double our sales. Now, sales development in products and brands is a bit hard to follow, however.

I must admit that since 2024, if you compare it to the figures that's published by IQVIA, how come? That's to do with the fact that IQVIA does not show the export business, about 25% of sales, and that's got a different development from the business in Switzerland. The main reason, however, has to do with the adaptation of the directive for medical products in May 2024. That means that products like Perskindol and Triomer will have to be adapted in their composition. It's different for us than for food. For us, it takes two to three years because you cannot simply switch or change the product overland. And that's why we supplied the markets with bridging stocks in Switzerland and in Europe in 2024, which created several million additional sales for products and brands. And that's not going to be in the books for 2025 and 2026.

And if you have a look at the results for the group, products and brands have shown slower growth than in 2024. And on top of that, of course, the seasonal volatility. The flu, hay fever, the number of sunny hours, mosquitoes. This year, for example, there was almost no summer flu. There was too much rain, not enough sunny hours, and the mosquitoes were not there, both in Switzerland and with our neighboring states. And minus 50% simply because there were no mosquitoes. Now, next year, the mosquitoes will be back and we'll be happy again. But let's look into the future of Verfora. Of the past few years, historically, Verfora is almost exclusively focused on brick-and-mortar sales. That was where business was and was correct, was the right thing to do. More than 300,000 customers go to a pharmacy every day after all.

So that is essential sales channels also for the years to come. And we have a vertical cooperation between Verfora and Amavita, Sun Store, Coop Vitality and Winconcept. That strengthens our entire group. But other channels are becoming ever more important. So our products, except for the medicine of List D, can, may, and will be offered more strongly also via other channels. That's not a new phenomenon, but it's more of a dynamic development as opposed to the past. So Germany, France, Austria, they are more active in our markets, and that has an influence on the flow of goods and our price structures. If you combine that with the changing customer desires, of course, we have new product walls. That leads us to an adjustment, a bit of an adjustment of Verfora's strategy for the coming years.

We are going to develop products according to the wishes of the customers. For Algifor, we've come up with liquid sticks. That's liquid Algifor. The customers wanted that because they do not want to swallow pills. They don't want to dissolve some powder, but they want to use the product on the go or Triofan. That's a classic cold medication, but it's also there for hay fever and for coughs today. So we're developing our brands into the depth and in breadth. Omni-channel, that's a new topic. As I said before, the customers went to the pharmacy. They had a problem, a headache, and they looked at the shelves and bought that product. Today, quite often, they take their decisions earlier. Social media, online, friends, what do I do if I have a headache?

So they get the medication online, or they already have an idea when they come to the pharmacy. So of course, we'll have to really cater to that development with OMNi-BiOTiC and Veractiv with Gavadar for experience, and we'll build on that. It's working well. And that should work out fine. What is becoming ever more important is the awareness of the brand, the recognition of the brand. Usually, you looked at a product on the shelf, but we have to make sure these days that the promise of the headache will go away is already in the minds of the customers as soon as they try to get information on social media, wherever. So how would I have to make the brand known? That is something that we're going to focus on in the future. Now, you're all familiar down here with the perks.

So a bit of a nice mascot to remind the customers of what this is all about. That's part of the game. Now, allow me to close with a remark from the beginning of my presentation. It's a truly exciting time for the consumer healthcare market, and Swiss market leader Verfora will shape the future market development. So I can't wait. Thank you. Thank you so much, Thomas. We are moving into the next Q&A. And now I'm going to specifically address the webcast because no questions were published so far. So you can either write your questions into the chat, or you can connect via the Swisscom link and click on the star sign plus 14 and announce that you have a question, or you press star 15 and cancel a question.

Let's kick off with the questions on site, and we hope that there's more questions on the webcast now. Thank you so much. We are at roughly 10% market share. Would it be possible to say something about the limits of the market? Where's the limit? Well, the limit is 100%. We can't go beyond that. It's a very heterogeneous market, and we are twice as big as number two and represent 10%, which shows how fragmented the market is. And obviously, we'll try to extend. And this is a challenge, a challenge that we need to deal with. It's not easy because number three and four are international companies that cannot be sold simply. So we need to find out which are the adequate alternatives, but we'll take the opportunities as they arise.

So what does it mean if number one, two, three together represent over 50% of market share? So the other ones have basically like 1%-2%? Yes, indeed. There's like 250-300 small companies that have a very small percentage. And from that point of view, we have to ask if that makes any sense even, because if I have to integrate into a full company with CHF 3 million of turnover, it's something that's worth asking. So what does make sense? I think that's difficult to say. If it works within the portfolio, the answer is yes. And otherwise, it's no. But we have a very large spectrum already, and then we need to see what kind of indication can work with what we already have. And in the end, it's not important if it's an integration or an acquisition, but we've seen that there's a huge growth.

But at the same time, we don't have, in terms of Omni-Biotic, any possibility of purchasing a company. Nevertheless, we were able to get the license for ourselves. We don't need to acquire everything. We can do it ourselves. Okay, excellent. Any other questions? Yes, please. Patrick Appenzeller from Zürcher Kantonalbank. The link between the introduction of this presentation and what we said afterwards isn't entirely obvious to me. You said there is a growing awareness in terms of health within the population. Where do you see the potential? Where do you see that there's going to be a higher turnover? Because maybe if people focus on their health, they will need less medication. The question, I think, deals with the question of preventing illness because people don't want to become ill, don't want to fall ill.

So if everybody takes care of that, they invest in terms of supplements, for instance. A lot of people take these in addition to their usual food. And in that sense, there's a possibility to extend in terms of general commerce, not just in pharmacy, but in general, because clients find information online, they purchase online or offline, and that's the field where we see the most potential in terms of growth. Julian, would you like to add anything? Okay, then let's take the next question. Carla Bänziger from Vontobel. You said that the channels are going to be extended, and the longer the more international competitors are going to enter this market. So how many offers are available on our actual market, and to what extent do you see that this is a risk for us?

If I think of Redcare, there's always the own brands that are sold. How do you see this in terms of brand? Yes, obviously, that's one part that we're taking into account when it comes to the strategy, and the question of how we use the other channels, because we have our own segment with our own brands, and there's obviously the question of where these come from, what role can they play or should play, and on the other hand, thanks to Redcare, we became aware of brands or products that were not on our radar, so yeah, on the one hand, it's a challenge, but on the other hand, it's a huge opportunity. Any other questions? Not right now, so let's check. Is there anyone on the webcast who'd like to ask a question? No questions asked on the web chat.

Well, I hope everybody is still here and did not fall asleep. So let's close this part of the Q&A. Thank you so much, Thomas. And then let's continue with our next subject, subject wholesale and logistics, which is our platform within the Swiss healthcare system. And Andreas Koch is going to show us how Galenica, with its company Alloga, Galexis and Unione, will not only ensure a secure and efficient supply of medicines to Switzerland, but also drive Galenica's growth in a targeted manner. Thank you. Let's focus together on logistics. I came with a big number. 100 million of packages of pharmaceutical products pass through our logistics facilities each year. What do we have to imagine when we look at this? We could divide this number through 365 and try to understand what it means in terms of daily business. But there's seasonalities.

For instance, yesterday, almost 500,000 packages were commissioned through our logistics system. That's a big number, and that's our daily bread in terms of our business. On the other hand, with our site in Burgdorf with Alloga, we have some sort of stocks in Switzerland in terms of stocks, where we have roughly CHF 1.5 billion worth in medication, and I'm using the word administration here because we don't want, which is not the right word, because we don't want to be administrator, but we want to see as a motor. We want to see as a pillar in terms of the healthcare system for the Swiss people. Through the last years, there was a certain dynamic, and the market and its structures have changed, and I'm going to talk about this in further detail and look into what has changed and where.

But basically, the market's growing, which as such is positive. When we look at a turnover and our sales numbers, we'll see that in terms of turnover, there's been a huge development throughout the last five years, but in terms of sales, it was not that high, which shows us that structurally speaking, in this portfolio, a lot of changes happened. And I'm going to talk about this. Throughout the last five years, the volume has risen by 7% roughly, which holds its own challenge in terms of logistics. And on the other hand, we were able to develop our market share, which is something that makes me personally very proud because besides the acquisitions that we have completed within Galenica, which has an impact in terms of wholesale logistics, we really manage well in terms of acquisitions of third markets.

Third markets is not meant in a demeaning way. It's a specific challenge which allows us to improve our performance on the existing markets. Beyond that period, we need to look into the degree of availability and our deliveries, meaning the available number and units of medication that we can ensure delivery for. Besides all of those projects, which I'm going to present to you, we have had a permanent and constant performance, which makes me, again, very proud. Let's look into one area of strong structural change, which has an impact on logistics. We are going to talk about generic medication and its authorizations on the market. Why does it have such a strong impact? Imagine the following: a very good blockbuster loses its patent, and that's a nightmare of every pharmaceutical company.

We've heard it before in the media, and when they say that the next product is produced without patent, what does it mean? In terms of our logistics, it means that a product which brings very good results is going to be replaced, not by a different product, but by four, five, maybe 10 different products. At the same time, the price is going to be lowered, meaning that our turnover is under pressure and the logistic complexity is extended. And that's the case of generic medication. And same thing for biosimilar medication, which is even where this is even stronger. So sometimes it's products that need a specific logistic chain of delivery, products that need to be refrigerated, or any of that sort.

Here's another example: throughout the last five years, and I've mentioned this before, we've had a market growth by 7%, whereas the refrigerated products have risen by 35%. That's a high complexity in terms of logistics. Another point is the security of supply in Switzerland. Of course, you can read about that. We've read the headlines, and we've heard about that in the press. Hundreds of products are not available. That's, of course, a challenge in logistics for us because the demand is there, and the customers ask us, "Can you get that for me? Are there any alternatives?" As soon as the product is available, there's a huge rush in logistics because everything has to be done at the same time. We're suffering from that non-availability, but we're not suffering in darkness. We're doing something about it.

Over the past few years, we've teamed up with Sandoz to found the Safety Stock Initiative. The goal is there are 350 key generic drugs, and we're building additional safety stock for them so that we can do something for the sake of the security of supply. It's not the be-all and end-all, but that creates quiet in the system. And of course, that's a great opportunity to offer services. Of course, it's not easy. So as early as years ago, we started to invest because we're strong in distribution, but not in warehouse stock. So if we build warehouse capacities up, then of course, that entails investment. Now, investment. We've invested quite a lot over the past few years. Of course, we'll have to really have the capacity, and the answer is technology and to manage all that.

So we've invested into that to have better throughput times, and that we're delivering twice a day. We're driving down the sources of error and boosting productivity in the process. So how do we do that? Let me give you an example. Marc has already mentioned it. We're in the midst of launching SAP, and if we look back to Alloga, that's where we managed to switch to our ERP system to SAP on launch EWM to boost productivity by 20% in operations. So of course, that's a classic boost to productivity, but it also reduces complexity. So that is what we are trying to do also going forward now. The next phase of digital transformation, that was Galexis. I told you last year that we're planning to go live with Ecublens and the warehouse there.

And that's ERP that affects all of Galexis with billing of customers and suppliers, and that's also true for Ecublens. And in Ecublens, we commissioned the new ERP system, the EWM, so that allowed us to go live with that, but I'm not.

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Of course, that was open-heart surgery, what we did there. You saw the figures, so we didn't stop, you know, to supply people with 50,000 items a day. So we did that while operations were ongoing, and people who worked there were not used to using a computer in their work. So there was a personnel who had been with the company for 35 or 40 years, and it was a major step for them, a difficult step for them. And you can imagine that customers and employees really cursed us as to how you could do such a thing. But still, it's gone well. Let's have a look at Niederbipp, shall we? That's where we're also going to switch on over to SAP. The master data have already been completed then. The customers and suppliers have also switched to SAP.

Of course, we're going to follow suit with logistics. We have a large-scale transaction volume, which is a challenge because we're switching the system. On the other hand, it's an opportunity because, of course, we want to even boost our transaction volume going forward. The existing system couldn't do that. Once that is completed, let's look to the future. We'll have an excellent foundation to continue to develop further technologically. Of course, there is AI that can support us and will support us in many places. These are four topics that I brought, but there are others that we are envisaging right now. The item allocation will have to determine quicker to see where the items will have to go, at which height in the warehouse, for instance. We're going to do that. We're also planning for the future.

So there is excellent potential harbored there that we get more efficient in catering to our customers to really give better answers to their needs and really focus on what is close to customers' hearts. And last but not least, that the capacity planning. And so using the people where they are needed day after day. So making our logistics stronger, smarter, and being closer to the customer. All of that should be an excellent starting point for the future for us so that we may be future-oriented and efficient in our service provision for the customers. Thank you. Thank you so much, Andy, for this insight into logistics. How positive are you in terms of the conversion in Niederbipp by 2026? Yeah, well, if I'd said that everything's going for the best, I'd be extremely, I'd appear very overconfident probably because obviously some problems are going to arise.

We are very well prepared. We have opted for a strategy that allows us to draw our learning experience thanks to Ecublens. And we are already at a very high level of optimization. And the whole teams didn't have to get used to working with IT in a different way. But it's not that difficult. So if something does not work, something needs to change. So first of all, question. Is there any question in the webcast? No questions asked in the webcast. Oh, well, at least I tried. Then let's continue and take the questions on site. Maybe at one point we will have a question online. Any questions right here? Just a question about the safety stock initiative. I think it's definitely a very positive initiative. Now, my major question is, what about the investment that's already been made?

Are there going to be further investments necessary in terms of stock? Yes, we have an additional initiative which we just launched within the group. Thanks to the introduction of the SAP system and the capacities, we'll be able to extend, meaning that if we need to raise our capacities within our own stocks, like in view of Galexis, then we'll also have the capacities offered by Alloga, meaning that we don't need to make everything bigger in order to stock more products, but we'd use the capacities available in Alloga. Because in that case, it really was a question about the handover of property, and then within this, it was necessary to have a marketing measure in order to allow for us to go to market with what we have. Just a quick follow-up question.

When you said it's an advantage in terms of competitors, can we think that we have carried the cost ourselves? What about security? Well, in this case, we did have a win-win situation, which we built with Sandoz. We would not have been able to do it out of our own strength solely because you wouldn't have been able to ensure financing of such an initiative. In case of Sandoz, it was a clear advantage in terms of the Swiss market and ensures their availability because when in terms of stock market, it wasn't such a good thing to up their stock because they obviously wanted to ensure that they have a good standing, a good position. And thanks to working together, we really created a win-win situation, which made our customers a winner.

Just in general, and to complete that point, when we raise our stocks, it's particularly because of the limited margin in terms of the big markets. A lot of the cost is going to be carried by the producer. Here a question at the center. Could you tell us something? Could you tell us if Niederbipp and Ecublens are about the same size in terms of the size? And secondly, you're sharing the distribution margin with your direct clients. Have there been any changes compared to the past or in the recent past? And secondly, there's obviously a tendency to lower the prices. So what does that mean for us? So it's two different questions. In the past, Ecublens was one third and Niederbipp two thirds. Now, with the transformation, we changed. In the end, Ecublens was just one fifth.

But our goal consists of going back into the same proportion. Now that we have stabilized our activities, we'll be able to raise it again. Please let's not forget that about one tenth of our volume goes through Ticino. I don't mean it in the sense of still going through Ticino. It's absolutely possible that we're going to raise the activity on the side of Unione in order to go beyond one tenth. And yeah, we aim for Ecublens to be at one third or more, which will allow us to go live safely. Secondly, margins. The fact is that when prices go low, the margins based on the turnover get lower too, which we try to counter by adapting our tariffs in terms of logistics, allowing us thus to make our margin based on the actual work and not in terms of the value of the product.

There should obviously be a relation in terms of the value of the product because that's a fact. If we have damage in terms of an expensive product, we need to have a certain guarantee and safety. But it also means that we provide a logistics service and we can invoice that, and yes, the market keeps asking for more efficiency and will always do that. We do have new regulations which will add pressure to the trade because it raises the need, and yeah, that's an ongoing discussion, and we are trying our very best to follow up on it and to ensure that we have a stable and continuous performance in order to not become too dependent. The simple answer is no. Here's our finance chief of finances. I'm just here myself. All right, and we do have a question asked in the chat.

Yes, we did receive a question asked by Stefan Schneider from Vontobel. The question is, why aren't there any complete optimization, let's say, with logistics robots? Well, robotics. Robotics is progressing and fast. And we talked about this during the break. It would be a huge advantage for us if we could use parts of the robotics. In the past, robotics were not efficient in terms of initiating it, meaning that the use of it, we saw those turnarounds with the different lightings. That's something where we could use robotics, and that's something that's provided by the producers or the builders. But in terms of installing the system, it's still complex because we have different heights, weights, different movements. So if anything, say, drops, the whole system breaks down. So it's something that's complex, and it would need over-dimensional effort in terms of the people who can use the robots.

But in terms of AI, we'll have a real game changer, or at least we think we will, because those machines can probably train themselves. And we have an ongoing discussion with our providers and have created conditions to test at least the possibilities of robotics in that sense. Thank you so much. Any last question? Yes. I have a very basic question. Why is Galenica the best provider of logistics? Is there any reason? I have a second question. Is the CapEx cycle finished, or do we need to invest further? And thirdly, don't you think that you enter into competition with diagnostics? Because all of these need capital. And in that sense, would it be possible to cut off logistics in order to have the necessary funds for diagnostics? All right. So the question, if it's strategically speaking, it makes sense.

Well, I do have my own opinion, but it might be slightly tainted. Well, I'd be happy to answer. It's a question that we've often asked. Isn't the sum of all the parts higher than the individual numbers? And we always came to the conclusion that the sum of it all brings more work. But obviously, logistics is in our DNA, and we do have several synergy effects, particularly in terms of retail. We're close to the market, not just because of the pharmacy, but because also of the third markets and because we feel the pulse of the market. And that's an important element when it comes to strategy, when it comes to acquisition and the development of certain sites. Because we're close to the market, and because of that proximity, we can provide exclusive services in terms of pharmacies that don't even go through a tender.

And our competitors don't even hear about it. When it comes to diagnostics, and that's interesting, we see an overlapping in terms of the focus because diagnostics brings us closer to one of our target groups, doctors. Because in the past, we had that proximity in terms of logistics and self-dispensation, where we have roughly one third of the market. But now, together with diagnostics, it's one core part of the synergy because we can target our sales teams. I mean, aim our sales teams and have a common go-to-market approach and use this when we work with doctors and care providers in order to be seen as a partner. We're not just selling medication, but we're going to offer a full package in terms of lab services too. In that sense, that works beautifully.

In terms of logistics, and thanks to our huge part of the market, we can open a lot of doors. You've also mentioned the need in terms of investment. And the fact is that we are top of the pops when it comes to modern investment. But we do have a need for further investments on a smaller scale, renewables and others. But it's not going beyond a certain level. And in terms of CapEx, we did have a CapEx budget of CHF 70-80 million per year. Now, with the last purchase in terms of lab, it's going to amount to CHF 80-90 million per year. And within that framework, we can work with each part. We did have Apo 360. Is that going to explode? CapEx? No, it won't.

Because the investment in terms of pharmacies and so on are going to be dealt with within the normal and standard CapEx budget. So that corresponds to roughly one fourth of our global CapEx budget in terms of investment and CapEx. All right. Very good. I think it's about time that we close this Q&A. We will hear more during the afternoon about finances and are now going to take our lunch break. Thank you so much, Andy. Our lunch break happens on the first floor again. Next to the market stands, there's a flying lunch, and by the way, you can also measure your blood sugar because we are measuring the lasting blood sugar, and we'll continue here at 1:30 P.M. This time, this is correct. 1:30 P.M. We're looking forward to seeing you again, and that's when we continue with Labor Team. Thank you so much. Enjoy your meal.

Welcome back, everyone. I hope you had a wonderful lunch. I was worried that I might spill food down my front, but I didn't, so I'm happy, and I've heard we have 22 people on the webcast. I hope you got a nice break too. Now, you saw it at the market stall with Labor Team. Robots are not pie in the sky for them, and that's already a reality, and there were quite a few people who wanted to take Ginger home with them so that Ginger could assist at the office tomorrow, but Labor Team insists on taking Ginger back with them at Big Square Meadridge, and we're here from Alain Cahen, who is a medical doctor and the CEO of Labor Team, and he's going to talk about the size of the Central Lab in Goldach. Alain, a very warm welcome to you.

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Thank you so much for those wonderful words of introduction, ladies and gentlemen. I guarantee that I'm not a robot. I'm real. Now, did you know that 70% of all medical diagnoses are based on laboratory analytics? And did you know that these 70% amount to no more than 3% of overall healthcare costs? You can see that lab analytics is highly efficient. And we've learned during the pandemic that we're relevant to keep the system going. 100,000 samples were dealt with by us in the period. Now, that's what we're doing day after day. So this is what I'd like to show to you today. We're the fourth largest lab in Switzerland, and together with Galenica, we're going to provide for additional growth. We're a well-established player in this market, and we have deep market understanding.

And the essential thing is that we're investing every year about CHF 7 million into our infrastructure, into digitization, and into automation. I believe there's a bit of a technical glitch that we have here. Well, thank you. You can see the dynamism of the market, the lab market. It amounts to a total of about CHF 3 billion. So there's the private labs. That's also us, one half. Then you have the hospital labs, and you have the GP labs in the practices. And that's special for Switzerland. It doesn't exist anywhere else. And there are certain trends, of course. First, it's quite similar to what you would expect from other health organizations, so increasing test volumes. So, of course, you want to know whether you're healthy or whether you're not healthy. People get older.

Outsourcing is another trend: more and more labs, namely the hospital labs and the physician labs. They outsource to us, the private labs. Market consolidation, that is ongoing. Smaller labs are really feeling the pressure, and we'll have to hand over to bigger labs. We're also testing a lot of volumes from other labs and the regulators. Last but not least, of course, we'll have to keep to the rates. The analysis is for lab medicines, but TARDOC also is true for pathology. We are the number four labs in Switzerland, and our home is Goldach. In Switzerland, we have 350 people. That used to be 400 during the pandemic. The special thing is that we cover all of Switzerland and Liechtenstein. We can do that, and that sets us apart from the crowd.

And it has to do with our sophisticated logistics and 25 people who take care of that. We have a one-site strategy. That's important. So how big is that? That's the answer that Iris asked: more than 12,000 sq m or even 12 and a half, to be exact. And we offer more than 2,000 tests, which is an unbelievable amount. And that's important because we test everything ourselves. More than 99% of what is coming in will be tested in Goldach. So 7 million tests a year. Do the math, and we'll end up with the day-to-day tests. And we're led by doctors. It's not just me. My colleagues have undergone scientific and medical training. That's the management and the labs, of course. So we understand the language of the customers, which are medical doctors. The next essential thing is a one-stop shop.

Everything under one roof: the lab, medicine, and pathology. And that's a rare occurrence in Switzerland to have everything under one roof so the pathologist can talk to the medical doctors about certain patients. Let's embark upon a journey, shall we? Where does my blood go? You will have asked that yourselves. It's not just blood because we do all kinds of bodily fluids, so everything, but also cells, what have you. And on the Swiss map, you can see we go from the bottom left to the top right. That's the longest possible journey from Geneva to Goldach. So first and foremost, you need a prescription. So the doctor tells you to undergo a certain checkup: blood sampling, biopsy, what have you. And the essential thing is an electronic order, which is crucial.

And we have our own IT because when the order is placed in Geneva, we know that something's coming our way in Goldach immediately, which comes with a lot of advantages. So we have sophisticated logistics. We have bike carriers. We have used the trains and another courier. So that's a maximum of five hours, four hours on the train, and 30 minutes each for the two couriers on the bike. And we've externalized that. So they are external partners, 60 external partners in Switzerland who work with us. So we've arrived with the sample on the top right. What happens in the lab? 70% of the volumes that come to Goldach come to the core lab. We've opened doors in January. That's the biggest and most complex lab in Switzerland. So I could explain a lot, but we.

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And the second one is a lack of staff.

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We obviously need time and resources within the Labor Team and in the structuring of that Team. It's also necessary to counter the lack of specialists. Those machines do not and never will work on their own. They don't need activation as such, but we also need the necessary tests, which must be validated. There's a question of quality control. All of that's important. Automation, hence, is important, but we're not only doing automation. We do innovation and I think that within our industry, we are top of the class when it comes to innovation. Within the last three years, we have launched 15 new tests on the market, which is something that the industry as such should provide, but it's been lacking recently and we have decided and clearly put it on our banner that we want to provide this service, particularly including tests for endometriosis and prostate cancer.

We're the only innovative laboratory that offers this kind of test, and we have hence received a lot of requests by university hospitals who are now sending us orders, but even before that, and I've mentioned the pandemic, and as a Labor Team, we had up to 10,000 additional orders per day in terms of coronavirus tests. That's 10% of the tests in Switzerland, which were carried out by us, but we were also the first ones to provide those tests, and then we were the first lab that was insured and interfaced with the federal office in order to transfer and transmit the results of the tests, and we helped others do the same, so our journey within the lab is something that we have seen, but it doesn't end there, because after the arrival in the lab, we need to transfer the results.

That happens electronically through the internet, through the different networks. So this is highly digitalized. IT is the backbone of any kind of laboratory. In our case, it's very particular. We have more than 30 coworkers. I keep saying that, in fact, we're an IT company because we have all those interfaces. We've got the impact in terms of development of our machines and everything else. As of now, 80% of our orders are dealt with electronically. We also transfer the results electronically. That is an inverse strategy. In fact, our competitors do the opposite. They internalize one thing and then externalize the rest. My colleague, Mr. Brinkmann, out there in the back, is very proud because we are the first green lab in Switzerland.

And we are one among only four in Europe who were certified as the first green and sustainable laboratory. And it's not just related to our logistics. It's our ecology with the use of green energy and circular economy that we apply everywhere we can. And that's something that distinguishes us on the market. So what's next? Particularly when it comes to our collaboration with Galenica. There's a lot of possibilities in order to have further growth. We have organic growth, which is the first target. We know our clients, and we're very close to them. And we've seen where we can make a difference thanks to our innovation. That's the first aspect. Secondly, we're aiming for inorganic growth. We have added two acquisitions as a Labor Team within the last four years. And we are watching the market very closely and want to ensure inorganic growth as well.

And finally, in the end, and with a Swiss company, we want to raise the Swiss flag. And we want to generate new ideas, continue on our path of innovation. And that is something that is going to happen thanks to the partnership with Galenica. And it's going to add further growth. I hope that I was able to give you a quick overview of what's going on in our industry, what happens in terms of Labor Team. I will gladly answer all of your questions, but we'll pass the mic first back to Iris. Thank you so much, Alain. It was very interesting. And from the beginning on, we were asked a few questions about Labor Team when the Q&I was available. Let's see how many of these questions are still unanswered as of now. Let's start here.

My question concerns the fact that you said that you have a huge advantage because of your site. What about acquisitions? Do you simply implement these on your platform, or can you imagine creating a second site in order to gain further speed? That's a very essential question. I think that when it comes to routine, then it's definitely the Core Lab that's going to fulfill that role. When it comes to specificities, things that happen somewhere in a small lab, somewhere in Switzerland, we probably need to decide case-based. But that's probably something that we'd use in case of any specialty popping up. Next question. Yeah, it's a question basically going into the same direction. You said you do have more than one lab. Yes, that's a fact. We have one strategic site, meaning that the big volumes are sent to Goldach.

And yes, we have done two acquisitions, the Hemostasis and Thrombosis Center in Zurich, and we have a second acquisition in Lausanne, a pathology center. And those are going to remain on site. Now, these are organizations that are kind of manageable. It’s fewer than 50 people. And if we do not need to integrate them, and if the process continues to work the way it does, it’s going to work perfectly well. So the fact is we do not have one site, but our main site, our core site, I’d say 90% still happens in Goldach. And to add something to this, particularly when we talk about the future, our targets and goals, then it’s important to maintain this type of structure, which offers a huge strategic advantage of this one efficient site.

And that allows us to integrate quickly any new acquisition that we'd make in the future. During the pandemic, we were slowly reaching the limits of our capacities. And that's one of the aspects why we decided to invest further. And we have made a huge effort in order to make sure that this type of volume can be treated in Goldach. Now, an additional question. If you take over an additional lab, do you also take the client base? Or not really? Well, no. Let's take the example of the Center for Hemostasis and Thrombosis. It's the leading lab for hemostasiology, meaning for this type of pathology. That exists elsewhere, but in this case, they are leaders. And so it's a doctor's office and a lab. And depending on the test, we can optimize what we do.

Now, the customer base is based everywhere in Switzerland, but the lab is in Zurich. If the client's in Zurich, there's no point in transferring the tests to Goldach, so it's a standard lab that you would take out, you would take over, you'd integrate it in Goldach. We need to decide case-based. That might be the logic, but there also might be reasons why we do that later or not at all. How about the capacities in Goldach? Can you add further machines in case of incredible sudden growth? Yeah, we've already done that. The machines that you saw in the video, well, I can give you the approximate numbers. Before we had them, we had reached 60%-70% of our volume back then, and we have added 50% in terms of volume.

So from 70, we are now effectively on 80 in terms of free capacities and free volume. And then, obviously, we can still make more and get additional machines if needed. Okay, excellent. Let's start in the middle. No, let's continue here. Because you have the mic. Yeah. You made the calculation in terms of capacity. So we're talking about CHF 14 million turnover up to CHF 200 million with the existing infrastructure. Is that correct? That question is not simple. And I did not make this type of calculation. I'd say this is approximately correct. And that depends also on the question whether we have routine or specialty. How about the margins? Do we need to think that with each additional Swiss franc, there's going to be a positive impact in terms of margin? And could you tell us whereabouts the margins are?

Like globally, Switzerland speaking, like Swiss speaking in that industry? So if anyone has an answer, I'll pass you the mic. Well, within the market, and we saw it, Labor Team is top efficient, and it does hold the benchmark within the trade, but we cannot give you any numbers, generally speaking. If we look just at Labor Team within its context and with its actual charge, then we have an EBITDA margin of about 20% and EBITDA on 15. Now, the question of the future is an actual good question because on the one hand, we have regulations, lawmakers, and I might anticipate something because yesterday, our Federal Council, Ms. Schneider, has announced a package of cost reduction. We were expecting it as part of actual common sense, which is needed, and that happens in anticipation of the review of the actual analysis lists and the new prices.

So on the one hand, we lower margins, but when we look into the future, the fact is that small labs are going to have difficulties to follow up, and they'll have difficulties to raise the volume that they're dealing with. So these are the two variables that we see. On the one hand, we have the potential to have more volume, manage more volume, and on the other hand, there is obviously the context. Now, given with what was communicated yesterday, we do think that it's not going to improve our margins. If we say roughly 20% or 15%, which I've mentioned, that's probably the level that we're at for the next years. Maybe one last question. And the question whether that has an impact on the margins. But if we do send a result on the machine, then oh, now I forgot what I wanted to say.

Does the market grow structurally within Switzerland, or is it more additional market shares that will allow you that growth? Well, it is a market where we push each other out. What do you mean structural growth? The fact that there's more and more tests that are run, globally speaking. Obviously, it's a mix. There are more tests, more analyses that would need to be done. But it is a market that pushes, and where we push each other out, that's a fact, and I think I've shown that in my presentation. Thank you so much. Let's continue in the middle, and afterwards, we'll continue and take questions from the webcast if there are any. Thank you so much. My first question concerns security, and we saw that in terms of IT, there have been cyberattacks, which did have massive impact. What's your structure? What's your take on this?

It's a very important question. I've been there for four and a half years, and we did raise our levels of IT security time and again. But we do have daily attacks. But nevertheless, despite these attacks, we did not have any incident. It's obviously a subject where we need to invest, that we need to promote, and that's particularly important when it comes to the healthcare system. Second question, there's going to be a probable split between specialty and routine testing, which is something that you've mentioned. I know that there's no clear definition, but maybe a gross definition would still be helpful. And if you could define those two parts. Well, that's a complex question when it comes to specialty and routine. And we can look at it from different angles.

It could be seen from the side of the machine that does the work, or when we look at the clinical side of a test. It's not that clearly defined within that industry. I'd say it's one-third, two-thirds, and we mustn't forget that there's pathology, which as such is a specialty, but within the specialty, there's also routine cases, so I'd say one-third, two-thirds. Okay, wonderful, and my last question. In terms of long-term margins, if we look at those 10% that we saw within the last years, how long will it take you to reach that target? Because when we talk about 10%, then it's quite significant, but if we calculate it per margin, it will probably cut it in half. How much time would you need to counteract this kind of movement? Yeah, we saw that during the last tariff adoption.

And obviously, we could feel the impact, but we were able to digest it. So it might go down one year and then go up again the year after. It depends on the impact in the end, and it depends on the size of it. But we mustn't forget that the small labs are probably going to disappear. Now, if we say 10%, that would be absolutely dramatic for the small labs. But that volume has to go somewhere. So we'll be at least at 10% of the volume or more. So we come out winning. And we expect further price cuts in the future. That's just part of it. That's part of the context and of our framework, and that's how we plan. And in combination, in terms of the volume, we will be able to compensate the loss of margins, or at least partially compensate.

And I'd like to add that it's important in terms of pathology and lab medicines, two different tariffs, which makes it possible to better manage the risks related to each. All right, I heard, and I come back for additional questions, but we do have three questions in the webcast. Yes, that's the record for today. Question number one, how stable have these margins been over the past three to four years? Second, what's the capacity in the core lab? And third, how about the regulatory environment over the coming two to three years? Well, that's three completely different questions. Allow me to get back. The stability, yes. That's a complex question because we just started out with a new operation. So, of course, we boosted our margins with that. But you have to have a look at each and every sector.

We used to have the clinical pathology and immunology as separate, and they're now together. So it's quite hard to answer that question. Well, on margins, the important thing, and that I should say, we could tend to have a look at individual technical department, but reality is more complex. You have to measure according to the profitability of each customer. So if you have a medical doctor with a higher volume, that's a more attractive customer. And of course, in the focus of our customer relations, and to give you a gastroenterologist, they do biopsies, and the blood samples go to the lab. But that's mixed. So you have to look at one order, really. Okay, two more questions on the webcast, I hear. Yes. Next question from [Amir Azuzak from JNS Investment .]

And it's about synergies, so whether strategic or other synergies exist between the Labor Team and the pharmacies. Well, in the pharmacy sector, of course, synergies are possible. And we have them on our list. But when realizing synergy, we're focusing first and foremost on the obvious thing, the link to the medical doctors, where we have those interfaces with the customers. And going forward, of course, we have further development in the services and pharmacies. So there's quite a lot of idea in the combination with test opportunities or checkups or blood sampling for medical doctors. So it's all about the capacities there. And we have the potential in pharmacies. But still, that's subject to regulatory change, and the services in pharmacies are still in the beginner's phase, but we're focusing on the first obvious synergies. And the last question before we continue to our next topic.

You had a question there. Yes. Thank you. Just to clarify, really. Are there any white spaces in your lab potential, or are you offering everything, or is there room for expansion? That's also a complex question. Because theoretically, those white spaces will always have been there for future tests that we are not even aware of that they exist today. Molecular biology springs to mind, so many things are happening there, but both the management board and we have really good connections with the companies in that field, so basically, we're covering everything, as I showed you, at 99.5% even, is what we're dealing with, and that's going to remain the case. Thank you. We have yet another question from the webcast. That's the very last question. Yes. Jan Widmer from St. Galler Kantonalbank.

And he's asking in terms of the pharmacy testing, what's the cost advantage that you expect from that? Well, right now, I must admit, it's a small percentage, really. We haven't even measured that separately. But the synergy potentials for pharmacies, to see, we'll have to develop that together and define the use cases to go with them. All right. Thank you. That completes that Q&A. Thank you very much, Alain. To you. Very fascinating insights. And save the best for last, as they say, Julian. The floor is all yours now for the markets and the insight into the regulatory environment and the financials. Thank you, Iris. I would now like to take the opportunity to thank the colleagues for the exciting presentations and the insight into our business.

I'd like to seize this opportunity to talk about the market, give you an outlook of the regulatory environment and our financial key figures. The past few years, we saw a quite benign market environment with constant, stable growth rates. To advance on that, that's the dynamism that we are expecting for the coming years. There are three markets that are especially relevant for us. That's pharmaceuticals and medication. Consumer healthcare market is second. New, the diagnostics market for lab services. The most relevant one is pharmaceuticals, and that market grew constantly between 3% and 5% a year over the past five years. Volumes grew because people get older. That's not the driver for growth. Higher prices were drivers for growth because of new innovation. We saw that with the GLP-1 drugs last year. We expect that trend to continue.

For consumer healthcare, the market has been rather flat. So OTC, over the past few years, increased slightly in non-medication. We have seen a flat and slightly decreasing trend given the higher competition by most retail and online. We expect that trend to continue. And as you heard from Alliance for Diagnostics, we expect higher volumes given that consumers are more health aware, get a lot of information about new tests and checkups, and the trend for more evidence-based medicine for medical doctors. So an attractive market with stable demands and growth due to new innovation. Let us link that up with the regulatory environment. We're in a regulated business. A large part of our sales is based on regulated prices. 56% in the pharmacies, 70% in wholesale are based on prescription drugs.

But also, a large part of diagnostic services and a part of medical products for the home care market are subject to regulation, to price regulation. And last year, if you have a look at that, there were three types of initiatives that were dealt with. On the one hand, the initiative to drive down costs, quite obviously. So many discussions around that. So it's prices of drugs. One-third of all medication prices are being reviewed and lowered. You're familiar with that. That's the standard process that is going to continue. Then there was the Motion Dobler, which would have seen that the health insurances would have reimbursed medication from abroad. The territorial principle. But that's off the table because the Council of States voted that down. When it comes to home care, that's Bichsel.

And clinical nutrition as a system change coming our way, starting at the earliest in 2027. The Bichsel home care services were fully being compensated via the product margin. We'll lower that, but we'll have a component for compensating for that. So all in all, the effects are not yet too clear. But for Galenica, we expect that to be a neutral effect. And the last point is labs. So two important points. So TARDOC will be launched in January 2026. That will be a neutral thing for the Labor Team, and that's the positive thing. And the second thing, there is an adaptation of the analysis list with a price reduction starting in January 2027, as was communicated yesterday. We expected that when acquiring the Labor Team. One essential point on rates and fees, perhaps the service-based remuneration number five, which was approved, which is positive.

So we're no longer in a state where there are no contracts. We can now plan ahead. So generally, all these changes have to be cost neutral. For Galenica, that LOA five is a slight opportunity because we've concentrated on blistering with Medifilm, and automated blistering will be compensated for in the future. And the last point, the initiatives on digitization of healthcare. First point, OTC liberalization. As was mentioned, it will come our way at the earliest in 2029. Then there is DigiSanté, an intensive discussion on further digitization of healthcare. And we're quite active in the associations there. The project is also supposed to boost e-medication. That's e-prescription, but also e-Mediplan. Those are all initiatives that we strongly support. So you can see quite a lot of discussion, a bit of a risk when it comes to regulators in part.

Opportunities for Galenica, but we can manage all of these topics that we discussed, we believe. Before getting to the guidance, let me have a look at the reporting. With the acquisition of Labor Team, we sat down and really thought hard about how to show Labor Team's sales in our annual financials and we also called into question what we're doing now. In the future, there will continue to be four business areas. Pharmacies, one channel, number one, so online and brick and mortar together. That is in line with our strategy as omni-channel player. There are so many initiatives that you heard about, Click and Collect, e-prescriptions. That has to do with good interaction between on and offline, and that is why we'd be showing the sales together. Second, products and brands, unchanged, essentially. Then services and production.

That used to be services and professional has now been developed further. So Bichsel home care, Lifestage, and MediService, as well as the production at Bichsel. We actively decided against a separate home care area. Because an essential element of our home care strategy, medication, is not included in these companies. And fourth, we'll have transparent topline sales for diagnostics. Logistics and IT, one adaptation, will only show the sales to third parties, that is created value external. So that used to be a group-internal IT services. But that takes us back to the profitability in the segment because that could be boosted the margin. And that's why that will lower the profitability slightly. Let's have a look at the guidance now, shall we? For half-year, we'd increased the guidance, so 3%-5% of sales growth unchanged. EBIT 7%-9% growth.

Now that we've acquired Labor Team, EBIT and sales will go up, so 4%-6% in net sales, and the EBIT guidance has been increased to 10%-12%. The important thing to mention here is that the 10%-12% means that the acquisition-related depreciation and amortization of intangible assets is not increased. Besides that, our dividend guidance is going to be unchanged with at least constant dividends. Two years ago, we have published a medium-term guidance for the year 2027, so our 100th anniversary, so it's not the time now to discuss a new medium-term guidance, but the time is right to take stock and see where we stand today in terms of the communicated targets as they were defined two years ago. During the last medium-term guidance, we had five targets in five areas. First of all, market growth as key planning assumption.

In this case, this has materialized, and we have reached, I mean, we have communicated 3%-5% as a baseline, and that's what happened. In the future, we continue using this baseline as it seems the best evaluation possible. We then have specific targets in terms of profitability per segment. Products and care, we have a goal of a profitability of 9.5% and beyond. This target is going to be reached without inclusion of Labor Team. As I've said, we believe that thanks to Labor Team, this margin is going to be increased. So we still don't know exactly how much that depends also on the regulatory context. In logistics and IT, we do have a margin of up to 2%, which were communicated.

It is obvious that after a successful implementation of the ERP in logistics, the margin is going to increase, and we are gaining in terms of efficiency. Because of the reclassification of internal IT, which I've mentioned, we will not quite reach the target of 2%. The third point was definitely the most important KPI. It was a goal in terms of EBIT of CHF 250 million. We will achieve this target even without including the Labor Team. Labor Team, we are going to achieve this thanks to a clear focus on cost and efficiency. In recent years, we have established professional structures, particularly in IT. Now it is a matter of curbing the cost related to growth and achieving efficiency in terms of the gains. Then the ratio, we have a target of cutting it by a factor two.

After the acquisition of Labor Team, nevertheless, we are going to even be higher than that, and we're talking about 2.3 or 2.4 in total. We do not feel that this needs immediate action because as time goes by, that value is going to decrease. In terms of dividends, things remain unchanged, and we apply the guidance of stable dividends between the precedent year and this year, which is going to increase as the earnings do. As you can see, we're on track with our medium-term guidance, and we're confident that we will achieve our ambitious targets. Thank you so much, Julian. Thank you, and this brings us to our final round of Q&A. Mark here with us again, and we're going to open up for your questions. Please ask away. Just a quick question.

In terms of EBIT guidance or margin guidance, where are we at in terms of return on investment? It's up to 2% that you've mentioned. How do we need to read this? Is it the absolute minimum, 1.8% as baseline or minimum, or 1.9%? Is there a specific target? No, we obviously try to reach the 2% for as much as possible, and we set up to 2% because we knew that this is the absolute benchmark when it comes to this matter. And that's why we did not announce 2% as a direct goal. But now, with our internal IT, the development of it all, we have reached a level of 1.5%. And in that sense, 1.8%-1.9% is a really good guideline or target line. Maybe let's take a second question.

In terms of the debt ratio, as you said, it's a bit higher than the factor two you announced. And you are looking into further acquisition. Is there a chance that in the end and in the long run, it's going to be above those 2%? And I'd also like to add something in terms of Redcare and the joint venture. How is it going? Are you satisfied? Have you reached what you have wanted when you decided to proceed with this fusion? Yes, thank you so much for this question. Obviously, the debt ratio depends on two components, two possibilities in the end to improve it. Either we lower the debt or we raise the EBIT. Ideally, obviously, it would be the second.

But it's obvious also that when we find new acquisition and we find a big attractive target, then there might be measures in terms of capital in the joint venture. But what's important in the actual structure, with smaller acquisition, we do not see an immediate need for action. Then, in terms of Redcare, I have to say that the partnership is excellent. We are very happy with what was reached in Switzerland. The collaboration is excellent. The contact within Redcare works well. They have excellent growth. And in terms of profitability, we do see that this is a full success. And we also find that the collaboration with the staff at Redcare is rich, very comfortable. We're extremely confident and positive in terms of the further and future development.

The strategy with the online channel, having somebody who's got this online channel within the DNA, definitely pays in terms of the strategy. Any other questions? Yes. Thank you so much. Here, my first question in terms of EBIT. Is that going to be adjusted in terms of the acquisition of Labor Team? Is that going to have an impact in terms of the EBIT? Well, we have just seen it. The numbers that we need to deliver in terms of regulation of immaterial value and the calculations behind it are hard to understand, which is why we considered to clear it up in order to actually show the real added value. And when will we receive the statements in terms of this new structure? The new structure is going to be kicked off in 2028, and we are going to adapt the periods which we use for comparison.

We do have a question online, Florian. Yes, a question from Sebastian Vogel from UBS. Why did you not adopt the midterm guidance despite Labor Team? Well, that's a good point, and I would have liked to adopt it, but one important point was confirmed yesterday in terms of the communication by the Confederation. There is a huge insecurity in terms of regulation, and we do think that margin is going to be increased and that the profitability of 9.5% cannot be considered a baseline depending on where it goes. Globally speaking, we'll see what can be added to the price calculation. Right now, we're at a profitability of roughly 15%. We do think that it's not going to drop anywhere beyond 9.5%. And between all of that, mathematically speaking, a lot of options are possible. Right. Anyone else would like to ask a question?

Maybe a question about home care because we have not talked about this in depth today. Does it remain a growth market, and what's the priority? We do see it as a growth market, and it remains within our main focus. Markus has mentioned it this morning. It's something that's deeply anchored in our strategy, and we have been reorganizing this area within our group and with our partners. And we will have a platform for this kind of product and services, obviously, which will be a joint market development. Excellent. So last call for your last questions. And if not, the time has come to say goodbye. And Marc, you have the stage in order to sum up and end this meeting. Yeah, thank you so much, Iris. Thanks, all of you, for having participated today.

Thank you for your questions and for the discussions we were able to have during breaks. Let's pass the mic on to Julian. Thank you. Well, I hope that today you have gained some new perspectives on Galenica and have a clear vision of where Galenica stands within its transformation. Marc said it this morning at the beginning of the day. Our transformation is based on a strong corporate culture as well as the active involvement of all employees. We are not developing this transformation because it's fun, but we do want to have the tools in order to develop our activities further. And we want to be the first point of contact for anything related to health and advice. We are continuously developing our range of advisory services by counting on qualified and motivated staff and by constantly improving the customer experience.

All of these initiatives are here so that we can inspire our customers and gain market share for a sustainable and profitable growth. Then Thomas talked about consumer healthcare through targeted investment and innovation. Thanks to Verfora, we have the leading consumer platform in Switzerland, and we are continuing to focus on expanding these new channels and the sustainable supply chain. We then had Andy Koch, who talked to us about wholesale and logistics. In that area, we are increasing our efficiency and thus security of supply through automation and digitalization. We have new partners and will gain in terms of efficiency thanks to those new automated systems. And finally, thanks to the acquisition of Labor Team, we were able to enter into the diagnostics business thanks to a highly efficient team in Goldach, which is now part of the Galenica network by opening up a new field of growth.

We are convinced that we have the right strategy. We are going to focus on a consistent strategy in order to remain the leading service health provider in Switzerland. It now is time to thank you, Iris, for hosting today's event and with so much charm. I'd also like to thank our communication teams and investor relation teams because without you, such a day would not be possible. A big thank you to our technicians who put us in the right light and spotlight, and a big thanks to you, dear investors, analysts, and guests. Thank you for your trust in us. Thank you for participation, your interesting questions, and thank you for taking time to engage with Galenica. We are just on time, and to end this all, I have the pleasure to now invite you to the guided tour in the Stapferhaus.

Marc and myself are going to participate, and Celia Bachmann is going to be our guide. We will have this 30-minute guided tour before having an aperitif in order to share additional time for discussions and questions. Please take your personal items with you because this room is going to be cleaned out. Thank you so much, and I'm looking forward to seeing you now.

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