Profit tonic for Alliance Boots

Pharmacy, health and beauty group Alliance Boots, now part-owned by US giant Walgreens, revealed headline profit up 18.5% to £840 million today.

Reported sales for the year to April were up 4.3% to a massive £23.4 billion and trading profit rose 0.4% to £1.27 billion.

Private-equity group KKR sold a 45% stake to Walgreens in a £10 billion deal nearly two years ago.

The group, which paid £141 million in tax for the year, of which £90 million was paid in the UK, continues to come under fire from critics for the low amount of tax it pays in this country.