Pharmaceutical distributing powerhouses Smith Robertson and Company Ltd and Oscar Francois Limited have been amalgamated.
On September 17, the board of directors of Agostini’s Ltd agreed to amalgamate its two wholly-owned subsidiaries, according to a material change notice posted by the Trinidad and Tobago Securities Commission yesterday.
On March 5, Agostini’s announced that Smith Robertson and Co Ltd had signed a sale and purchase agreement with the shareholders of Oscar Francois Ltd and Intersol Ltd to acquire 100 per cent of the issued and outstanding share of those companies.
The transaction although causing some consternation among the public was approved by the T&T Fair Trade Commission.
In its latest financial statement for the third quarter ended June 30, 2021, Agostini’s chairman Christian Mouttet said the company’s pharmaceutical retail and distribution businesses had a “solid performance” with improvements in revenue and profitability across most segments.
“The recently acquired Oscar Francois and Intersol businesses also performed well during the third quarter and the integration with Smith Robertson is progressing as planned,” Mouttet said.
For the third quarter ended June 30, 2021 Agostini’s “Pharmaceutical & Health Care” business segment made $44 million more in revenue than for the same period in 2020.
The profit after tax for the “Pharmaceutical & Health Care” business segment for the third quarter ended June 2021 was $97.96 million.
For the same period in 2020, the profit after tax was $91.39 million.
Overall Agostini’s profit for the third quarter was $142.69 million.
Smith Robertson & Company Limited is the leading pharmaceutical and personal care distributor in T&T, its website stated.
The Company was established in 1894 and incorporated in March 1929.
In 1998 Smith Robertson was acquired by Victor E Mouttet Limited and restructured to be focused only on the distribution of pharmaceutical and personal care products.
“Oscar H Francois began his trading company in 1958 after a long career as a self-motivated sales manager. As early as 1947, he had begun his work with ethical pharmaceuticals, and this was his logical choice for the formation of a small distribution company to supply a range of American, Canadian and European prescription pharmaceuticals to pharmacies in Trinidad and Tobago,” its website stated.
In 1967, Intersol Limited was established and began manufacturing and distribution of the Faberge Brands in T&T and exported to distributors in other Caribbean islands.
