- Significant growth in the third quarter of 2017

- Cooperation with Eurapon mail-order pharmacy, Bremen

- Further expansion of European market leadership

In the third quarter of 2017, the Zur Rose Group increased its sales by 15.4 percent compared with the same period of the previous year. The company is taking over Eurapon Pharmahandel GmbH, a service provider in the distribution of pharmaceuticals, based in Bremen. With this transaction and the acceleration in sales, the Group confirms the successful implementation of its growth strategy.

In the third quarter of 2017 the Zur Rose Group achieved a striking increase in sales of 15.4 percent compared with the same period of the previous year. This means that growth continued even more strongly in the third quarter, reaching cumulative total sales of CHF 711.6 million, or 9.9 percent ahead of the previous year (9.8 percent in local currency). Sales in the operating segment Germany increased in local currency by 18.4 percent in the third quarter, compared with the same period of the previous year (9 months, up 16.0 percent to EUR 318.7 million). DocMorris boosted its growth in local currency by 38.7 percent (9 months, 41.4 percent) in the area of non-prescription drugs (OTC) and by 14.5 percent (9 months, 9.6 percent) in the area of prescription drugs (Rx). In Switzerland, sales in the doctors' segment (B2B) rose by 8.1 percent (9 months, 6.0 percent) compared with the same period of the previous year. The retail business grew again for the first time, with sales up by 5.6 percent in the third quarter. This concludes the adjustment for low-margin sales in the Specialty Care business. Overall sales in the operating segment Switzerland increased by 7.5 percent in the third quarter (9 months, up 3.8 percent to CHF 360.1 million).

Cooperation with Eurapon - DocMorris has entered into a cooperative venture with Kubilay Talu, operator of the Bremen-based Eurapon mail-order pharmacy. Kubilay Talu intends to collaborate closely with DocMorris in future, through Eurapon Pharmahandel GmbH. There are subsequent plans to operate the mail-order business from the Netherlands. This choice of location is an advantageous one in the European environment for an internationally active mail-order pharmacy. DocMorris is expected to take over Eurapon Pharmahandel GmbH from owner KubilayTalu before the end of 2017 and along with that a significant proportion of the logistics and drug deliveries for the Eurapon mail-order business. In 2016 Eurapon achieved sales amounting to EUR 52 million from its mail-order business geared towards non-prescription drugs and has grown by 30 percent per year for the last three years, which is considerably above the market average. By taking this step the Zur Rose Group will further extend its European market leadership.

The transaction is subject to approval by the responsible competition authorities. It has been agreed not to disclose any financial aspects.

1) including BlueCare sales of CHF 1.6 million

2) including BlueCare sales of CHF 2.7 million

At 2 p.m. today there will be a telephone conference in English for analysts and the media.
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Investor and analyst contact
Marcel Ziwica, Chief Financial Officer
e-mail: ir@zurrose.com, telephone: +41 52 724 00 64

Media contact
Lisa Lüthi, Head of Corporate Communications
e-mail: lisa.luethi@zurrose.com, telephone: +41 52 724 08 14

Eurapon
The mail-order business operated in Bremen by pharmacist Kubilay Talu under the name of Eurapon is one of the ten online pharmacies with the highest turnover in Germany. Eurapon Pharmahandel GmbH is a service provider in the distribution of pharmaceuticals, primarily providing logistics and other services for Eurapon.

Zur Rose Group
Operating under the "Zur Rose" and "DocMorris" brands, the Swiss-based Zur Rose Group is Europe's largest online pharmacy and one of Switzerland's leading wholesale suppliers to medical doctors. Through its business model, it helps to ensure safe, reliable and high-quality pharmaceutical care, while also excelling in developing innovative medicines management services to increase the effectiveness of the medication process. This creation of added value, the strong focus on patients and the commitment to supply medication at low cost for the benefit of payors and patients make the Group an important strategic partner for all healthcare stakeholders.

Zur Rose Group is headquartered in Frauenfeld, from where it also serves the Swiss market. In Germany and Austria, the Group operates through subsidiaries in Heerlen (Netherlands) and Halle an der Saale (Germany). Furthermore, it holds a majority interest in BlueCare in Winterthur, the leading provider of networking systems in the Swiss healthcare market. Employing more than 800 people at its various locations, Zur Rose Group generated revenue of CHF 880 million in 2016.

Zur Rose Group AG's shares (ticker symbol ROSE, Swiss security no. 4261528, ISIN CH0042615283) are traded on SIX Swiss Exchange in accordance with the International Reporting Standard of SIX Swiss Exchange. The corporate bond issued in November 2012 for the purpose of financing the DocMorris acquisition is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (Swiss security no. 19972936, ISIN CH0199729366, ticker symbol ZRO12). zurrosegroup.com