Veterinary Industry Summary: March 10–16, 2024
Stats from the Veterinary Industry Tracker powered by Vetsource and AVMA
March 10–16, 2024
The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has proposed a market investigation into the country’s veterinary sector, according to a recent VIN News Service article.
The rising cost of veterinary care has outpaced inflation in the U.K., a fact that contributed to the launch of the CMA’s initial six-month review. During that review, the agency claimed to have identified multiple concerns that may be undermining competition:
- High ownership concentrations — According to the CMA, nearly 60% of veterinary practices in the U.K. are now owned by consolidators. Through a heat map of the country, the agency identified 1,134 regions that might have “competition concerns.” Of those, 330 are areas where a corporation owns at least two primary care practices and has at least 30% market share, and 804 are areas where there is one practice with no competitor.
- Insufficient information about pricing and practice branding being provided to pet owners — The CMA claimed that prices are not listed on most practice websites and that pet owners aren’t always informed of cost prior to agreeing to treatment. And, because some consolidators don’t change the name or branding of practices they purchase, pet owners may not realize that some or all of the veterinary practices in their area are owned by the same corporation.
- Lack of transparency about the ability to fill pet prescriptions outside of the veterinary practice — The CMA found that about 25% of pet owners did not know that they could fill their pet’s prescription somewhere other than the veterinary practice.
The CMA’s market investigation is conditional on the outcome of a public comment period ending April 11. If the agency moves forward with the investigation, it is expected to last 18 to 24 months, and the results could influence the thinking of regulators in other countries, including the U.S.
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| +4.9% Revenue YoY (Last Week) |
-0.2% Visits YoY (Last Week) |
Year-over-year revenue and visits continued to climb last week, with revenue up to 4.9% from 3.2% the previous week, and visits at -0.2%, an increase from -1.9% the week prior.
 -1.9%Heartworm YoY |
 +5.4%Flea/Tick YoY |
| +5.9% Services YoY |
+1.9% Products YoY |
While year-over-year heartworm protection was still in negative territory last week, it improved to -1.9% from -2.9% the week prior, and year-over-year flea/tick protection jumped from the previous week’s 0.5% to 5.4%. Year-over-year revenue from services and products also gained ground, with services revenue at 5.9% and products revenue at 1.9%, compared to 4.2% and 0.2% respectively the week prior.
| +5.2% Revenue YoY (Last 12 Months) |
-2.0% Visits YoY (Last 12 Months) |
The rolling 14-day trendline shows revenue and visits remaining fairly stable since mid-February.
| 5,431 Practices |
2.1M Revenue per Practice (Last 12 Months) |
10.5K Visits per Practice (Last 12 Months) |
Last week, North Carolina remained on top for year-over-year revenue and visits growth at 9.3% and 1.0% respectively. Iowa was the only other state to show positive growth in year-over-year visits at 0.1%, and New Hampshire enjoyed the second-highest growth in year-over-year revenue at 8.5%.
*Numbers are subject to change based on data availability and PIMS adjustments.
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