It was a good year for Oticon and ReSound, which got a turbo-boost in sales growth from their introductions of new flagship Agil and Alera hearing aid families.
Oticon’s corporate parent William Demant Holding reported 21 percent revenue growth with strong profitability for its 2010 fiscal year, driven by the success of the new Oticon Agil hearing aid family. William Demant Chief Executive Niels Jacobsen told Reuters that William Demant recaptured its position “as the fastest growing player in the hearing aid industry” in 2010. It also increased its market share with the 2010 acquisition of Otix Global, maker of Sonic Innovations hearing aids, but still is chasing Sonova Holdings, parent of Phonak, the global leader in the hearing aid industry.
ReSound parent GN Store Nord also ended 2010 on a high note, reporting 10 percent fourth-quarter growth with strong growth in profitability for the year. GN Store Nord Chairman Per Wold-Olsen attributed the strong end-of-year results in part on the successful launch of the new ReSound Alera hearing aid family.