By Tristan Veyet and Mateusz Dobrzyniewski
(Reuters) - Swiss online drug retailer DocMorris said it expected its annual loss to be at the upper end of a previous forecast, driving its shares down by more than 10% on Thursday following a decline in paper prescriptions.
It forecast an adjusted core loss of 30 million to 40 million Swiss francs ($33.4 million to $44.5 million) in 2023, compared to the previous range of 20-40 million.
The company, which relies heavily on the German market since it sold its Swiss business to Migros earlier this year, still aims to become profitable in 2024. This target does not take into account the positive effect of e-prescriptions, which were rolled out across Germany in July.
Revenues based on paper prescriptions declined by 16.9% in local currency, DocMorris said, adding that was below expectations.
DocMorris also cut its 2023 external revenue outlook, expecting a high single-digit percentage decline in local currency, from a previously expected mid-single-digit drop.
Its external revenue fell by 5.8% to 256 million Swiss francs in the third quarter, below the 262 million francs expected by analysts polled by the company.
"In 3Q23, DocMorris clearly underperformed its closest competitor Redcare Pharmacy," Baader Helvea said in a research note.
Redcare Pharmacy earlier in October said its third quarter sales rose by two thirds, aided by double-digit growth in sales of non-prescription products.
But analysts said DocMorris had weighed on the wider sector and Redcare Pharmacy's shares fell around 3% on Thursday.
($1 = 0.8990 Swiss francs)