SEVENUM (dpa-AFX) - The online pharmacy Redcare Pharmacy remained on a clear growth course in the second quarter, also thanks to the introduction of electronic prescriptions in Germany. Group sales rose by a third to 560 million euros compared to the same period last year, as the MDax company announced on Thursday in Sevenum, the Netherlands, on the basis of preliminary figures. This was roughly as much as analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had expected. The share price rose significantly on the stock exchange.

Despite high advertising expenditure relating to the electronic prescription, the operating margin (EBITDA) adjusted for special effects in the quarter is likely to have been within the target range of two to four percent for the year, according to CFO Jasper Eenhorst.

The share price rose significantly at the start of trading with an increase of more than 8 percent, placing it at the top of the MDax mid-cap segment. The previous day, the share price had already closed well in the profit zone in a firm market. However, even with Thursday's positive signs, the year to date still shows a slight loss. Jefferies analyst Martin Comtesse spoke of encouraging initial signs regarding the potential of the German market for electronic prescriptions.

The increase in sales of electronically ordered prescription drugs in Germany (E-Rx) accelerated to 37 percent in the second quarter. In the first quarter, growth here was only 7 percent. In May, Redcare introduced the option of digitally ordering electronic prescriptions via the corresponding cell phone app for its best-known online portal Shop Apotheke and also ran advertising spots for this.

The development of the operating margin should go down well with investors, wrote UBS analyst Olivier Calvet. The current figures for the second quarter are also fundamentally positive. However, the e-prescription business in Germany still needs to gain momentum in the second half of the year.

Non-prescription products still account for the low share of Redcare's business: Revenues here climbed by a good fifth to 390 million euros. The takeover of Mediservice in the middle of last year also contributed to the increase in total sales. The provider's active customer base grew by 0.4 million to 11.6 million compared to the previous quarter. Redcare will present its detailed financial report for the three-month period to the end of June on July 30./men/nas/mis