Australian medical technology company Cochlear has announced a 9 per cent increase in revenue for the six months to the end of 2022.
The company said the record $893 million result was driven by strong growth in cochlear and acoustic implant revenue.
It said the sale of Cochlear implant units increased by 14 per cent, driven by strong demand for the Cochlear Nucleus 8 Sound Processor, which was launched during the second quarter, and the continuing recovery from COVID surgery delays across the emerging markets.
Underlying net profit was down 10 per cent to $142 million. The company said this reflected an increase in expenses related to cloud computing expenses, new product launches and the impact of the weighting in operating expenses to the second half of the financial year 2022.
The company also announced that it will commence a progressive on‐market share buy‐back program with the aim of reducing the cash balance to around $200 million over a number of years.
Cochlear said, "There remains a significant, unmet and addressable clinical need for cochlear and acoustic implants that is expected to continue to underpin the long‐term sustainable growth of the business."
It said it expects to deliver an underlying net profit of $290 to 305 million in the current financial year. This would represent an increase of around 5 to 10 per cent on the previous year.