SMITH & NEPHEW, Europe’s biggest artificial knee and hip maker, trimmed costs to shore up profit in the last three months of 2011, putting it back on track for what it expects to be a tough 2012 after a disappointing third quarter.
The group’s trading margin bounced back to 25.2 per cent, from 19.8 percent in the third quarter, resulting in fourth quarter trading profit of $279m, down one per cent but ahead of analyst expectations.
Smith & Nephew, which also has endoscopy and advanced wound management units, has struggled with high costs, and chief executive Olivier Bohuon is cutting $150m (£94.8m) from the business, including shedding seven per cent of its 11,000-strong workforce.
Demand for replacement knees and hips, made by Johnson & Johnson, Styker and Zimmer as well as Smith & Nephew, stalled when global economies weakened.
