Shares in medical device company Convatec fall 20 per cent on ‘disappointing’ results
Shares in medical products company Convatec plunged 20 per cent this morning after it unveiled a “disappointing” set of 2018 results.
Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (Ebit) fell six per cent year-on-year to $429.4m (£334.5m), despite a 3.8 per cent increase of reported revenue to $1.832bn.
Its Ebit margin was 23.4 per cent, down from 25.9 per cent the previous year, sending shares plummeting to 119p.
Read more: Convatec issues profit warning as CEO leaves
It said it expects organic revenue growth of one to 2.5 per cent in 2019 with an adjusted Ebit margin of 19-20 per cent.
Convatec floated in October 2016 at 225p per share. Its share price has had a torrid time since with former private equity backers Nordic Capital and Avista Capital Holdings moving quickly to sell shares in the company and chief executive Paul Moraviec leaving in October after a profit warning.
Interim chief executive Rick Anderson said: "These are disappointing results, in light of our revenue and margin guidance at the beginning of 2018. With the executive committee, I have undertaken an extensive review of the business since my appointment as CEO and it is clear that swift and strong action is required to address the failures in execution which have caused the company to underperform.
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“Following board approval, we are now implementing a refreshed execution model to support our strategy and deliver sustainable and profitable growth.
“We will achieve this by concentrating on those product and market segments which offer the best returns, developing a strong and innovative pipeline of new products, simplifying our business to run it more efficiently and investing to strengthen our commercial and operational execution.
“This model can be leveraged by an incoming CEO, without constraining any potential strategic changes they may wish to implement.”