Sports medicine boosts Smith & Nephew results as chief financial officer steps down
Medical device manufacturer Smith & Nephew has reported revenue and profit increases due to higher demand for sports medicines as the chief financial officer steps down.
Strong performance in sports medicine, advanced wound management, and orthopaedics, which together make up 60 per cent of their business, has led to a 7.3 per cent rise in underlying revenue to £2.73bn for the first half of this year, compared to the same period in 2022.
Both orthopaedics and advanced wound management revenue rose by around 6 per cent, while sports medicine & ENT (ear, nose and throat) revenue saw an increase of double that figure, fuelled by high demand for shoulder and knee repair products.
The half-year profits have surged to £275m, marking a significant £33m increase from the first half of 2022.
It comes as the current chief financial officer, Anne-Françoise Nesmes, has disclosed her plans to step down during the second quarter of 2024. The 167-year-old medical tech firm’s board is actively searching for her successor externally.
Smith & Nephew’s boss, Deepak Nath, said: “Overall, these results have given us the confidence to increase our full year revenue growth guidance.”
He explained: “Margin development in the first half was in line with our expectations. In the second half, we expect a clear step up in both trading margin and cash generation as we begin to see the benefit of productivity gains and start bringing down inventory levels.”
Shares in the London-listed Smith & Nephew dropped 2.2 per cent on Thursday morning even as it upped its revenue growth guidance by one per cent, aiming for a six to seven percent growth.
Their 12-Point Plan is driving their strategy for “sustainable higher growth,” and they have already launched 13 new products this year, with more in the pipeline.
The company also revealed a change in leadership earlier this year, with the appointment of the grandson of Sir Winston Churchill and chief executive of Serco as the new chair.
He will take over from Roberto Quarta in late September, bringing decades of experience in senior roles to the firm. Quarta had held the position since 2014.