Cochlear Ltd. reported a 16 percent increase in profits for the first half of its fiscal year on a 20 percent increase in unit sales of its cochlear implants, pointing to a strong recovery from the recession as well as a growing number of patients opting for a second implant to get bilateral hearing from both ears.
Cochlear CEO Chris Roberts told The Wall Street Journal that strong growth in sales in developing markets where cochlear implants have only recently been introduced indicated acceptance of the implant technology to restore hearing has gone global, providing a positive outlook for long-term growth of Cochlear and the implant industry. He added that in North America and Europe where cochlear implants are well established, there is growing demand for bilateral implants providing stereo sound from restored hearing in both ears. Currently, fewer than 10 percent of patients have a second implant, providing another opportunity for strong growth in the industry.
Roberts also downplayed the market impact of the recent recall by Sonova Group of its Advanced Bionics (AB) subsidiary’s Hi-Res 90K cochlear implants due to a product malfunction. He told BusinessWeek that cochlear implant patients are slow to switch brands and that financial analysts overestimated the positive impact the recall may have had on Cochlear Ltd.’s sales. Sonova CEO Valentin Chapero Rueda last week indicated AB’s cochlear implants could be back on the market by April. There are only three global suppliers of cochlear implants: Cochlear Ltd. is the global leader, Advanced Bionics is the second largest player in the market, and Med-El of Austria is third.