The company behind Priceline and Soul Pattinson pharmacies has returned to profit and vowed to continue rolling out new stores.
The popularity of personal beauty advisers and pharmacist health checks has also helped deliver strong sales growth for Priceline.
Australian Pharmaceutical Industries, which also owns the Pharmacist Advice brand, made a profit of $43.1 million in the year to August 31, a turnaround from a $90.8 million loss in the previous year caused by a series of writedowns.
"API is delivering on our strategy of transforming from a pharmacy wholesale business into a leading retailer with the synergy of a reliable, cash generating pharmacy distribution business," chief executive Stephen Roche said.
Priceline and Priceline Pharmacy stores achieved a 10.4 per cent lift in retail sales - sales at registers and excluding dispensary sales - to $1.05 billion.
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Like-for-like store sales rose 4.5 per cent.
The Sister Club loyalty program continued to grow, with more than 5.6 million members, while more than 50,000 appointments were made with Priceline's beauty advisers.
This was complemented by professional health checks by pharmacists, which include anaemia screening, breast-check training, blood pressure and cholesterol tests.
During the year, API added 30 Priceline and Priceline Pharmacy stores, taking the total to 420, and it expects to add at least another 20 outlets in the current year.
The company's online stores are generating 10 million page views per month, API said.
Sales in its pharmacy distribution business were flat at $2.4 billion, as reforms to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) caused price falls, and some customers were lost to competitors.
Underlying revenue, excluding the impact of PBS reforms, was up 6.5 per cent on the previous year.
Mr Roche said that was in line with expectations and fulfilled the role API wanted the business to play.
"We want this business to be a predictable source of earnings and cashflow, and it is an important part of our long term performance," he said.
Shares in API closed down 2.5 cents at $1.735.
PRICELINE SALES GROWTH DELIVERS FOR API
* Full year profit of $43.1m, up from $90.8m loss
* Revenue up 3.3pct to $3.46b
* Fully franked final dividend up 0.5 cents to 2.5 cents
