By Frank Sirianni.
At APP this year, many pharmacy owners and buyers inquired about the current appetite among banks for pharmacy lending.
When responding, we referred everyone to our Medici Capital Pharmacy Bankers’ Sentiment Survey, which we completed for the first time in 2024, and will be an annual initiative designed to track key trends and issues in pharmacy banking.
The survey was completed in September 2024, and another survey is planned for later this year.
This survey gathers insights from pharmacy specialist bankers, a crucial source of financial expertise for Australian community pharmacy.
Below are the three key highlights from the 2024 Medici Capital Pharmacy Bankers Sentiment Survey.
1. Pharmacy bankers confident about pharmacy’s financial stability and growth prospects.
The findings reveal that specialist pharmacy bankers have strong confidence in the financial stability and growth prospects of the pharmacy sector, reflecting a positive outlook for Australian pharmacy.
2. Pharmacy bankers expect that Australian community pharmacy conditions will be slightly better in 6 months.
The findings reveal that bankers believe that Australian community pharmacy conditions will be slightly better (i.e. outlook, profitability, risk, and other factors from the bank’s assessment perspective) in 6 months from now.
3. Pharmacy bankers believe the prices paid for pharmacy business sales will increase slightly.
The findings reveal that bankers believe that the prices paid for pharmacy business sales will increase slightly.
This survey was completed post the signing of the 8CPA, but before the full flow through impact on community pharmacy was apparent.
It was also completed in the context of ongoing fears relating to both the introduction of 60-day dispensing (60DD) and a relatively high interest rate environment.
It will be interesting to see how the 2025 survey goes.
The Pharmacy Bankers’ Sentiment Survey will continue to be conducted annually, providing ongoing analysis of industry trends and challenges.
For more information, contact Frank Sirianni at fsirianni@medici.com.au.
