その後、同社は薬局事業（旧 保険薬局事業）※とBPO事業（旧 医療関連事業）※の2つの事業セグメントに事業を整理し、経営の効率化と業容の拡大を図り、2018年10月に持株会社体制へと移行した。同社本体は純粋持株会社としてクオールホールディングス(株)に社名を変更し、コーポレート・ガバナンスの充実やグループの中長期成長戦略の策定、グループ全体の統率などに取り組んでいる。薬局事業はクオール(株)やM&Aでグループ化した企業などで展開し、BPO事業ではアポプラスステーション(株)でCMR派遣を中心としたCSO事業、アポプラスキャリア(株)で薬剤師などの医療系人材紹介派遣事業を展開している。また、製薬事業（旧 医療関連事業）※に進出すべく2019年8月に藤永製薬(株)を子会社化したのに続き、2024年4月に第一三共＜4568＞の子会社で後発医薬品の製造販売事業を手掛ける第一三共エスファの株式を追加取得し（出資比率51%）、連結対象子会社とした。第一三共エスファについてはいずれ完全子会社化する予定だが、時期は未定としている。Company Overview
1. History
Qual Holdings Co., Ltd. was established in 1992 by the current Honorary Chairman, Masaru Nakamura. Since opening the first pharmacy in Nihonbashi Kabutocho in 1993, the company has actively utilized M&A in addition to its own store openings to expand its network of pharmacies. Alongside this, it has also sought to enter related and peripheral businesses, establishing Phaseon Co., Ltd. in 2003 to enter the clinical trial-related business, and in 2008, QOL Medis Co., Ltd. was established to start a worker introduction and dispatch business.
Subsequently, the company streamlined its business into two segments: Pharmacy Business (formerly Insurance Pharmacy Business) and BPO Business (formerly Medical Business), aiming for operational efficiency and business expansion. In October 2018, it transitioned to a holding company structure. The main company changed its name to Qual Holdings Co., Ltd. as a pure holding company and is working on enhancing corporate governance, formulating the group’s mid-to-long-term growth strategy, and coordinating the entire group. The pharmacy business is developed by QOL Co., Ltd. and other companies grouped through M&A, while in the BPO business, Apoplus Station Co., Ltd. focuses on CSO business centered on CMR dispatch, and Apoplus Career Co., Ltd. develops staffing services for medical professionals such as pharmacists. Moreover, to enter the pharmaceutical business (formerly Medical Business), the company made Fujinaga Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. a subsidiary in August 2019, and in April 2024, it further acquired shares of Daiichi Sankyo Esfa, a subsidiary of Daiichi Sankyo responsible for the manufacturing and sales of generic drugs (investment ratio 51%), making it a consolidated subsidiary. There are plans to fully acquire Daiichi Sankyo Esfa, but the timing remains undecided.
From the fiscal year ending March 2025, in order to more accurately reflect the actual business activities, the reporting segments will change from the previous two divisions of Insurance Pharmacy Business and Medical Business to three divisions: Pharmacy Business, BPO Business, and Pharmaceutical Business. The pharmaceutical manufacturing and sales business, which was included in the Medical Business under the former segment classification, will be separated and disclosed independently as the Pharmaceutical Business.
The company's strategy to expand its business across three areas: Pharmacy Business, BPO Business, and Pharmaceutical Business, aims to enhance revenue stability while pursuing business growth. Although the Pharmacy Business consistently generates stable revenue, the risk of revenue volatility is influenced by healthcare administration policies (such as biennial revisions of dispensing fees). In years of revision, it may negatively impact revenue, so the strategy is to cover such losses with growth from the BPO and Pharmaceutical businesses to maintain overall revenue stability. The composition ratio by business segment (mid-term results for fiscal year ending March 2025) shows that the Pharmacy Business accounts for 67.4% of revenue and 53.5% of operating profit, followed by the Pharmaceutical Business with 27.2% of revenue and 34.7% of operating profit, and the BPO Business with 5.4% of revenue and 11.7% of operating profit. Up until the fiscal year ending March 2024, the Pharmacy Business accounted for the majority of both revenue and operating profit, but with the acquisition of Daiichi Sankyo Esfa, it can be said that the company now has a balanced business portfolio.
(Written by FISCO guest analyst, Jo Sato)
