Smith & Nephew raises revenue growth guidance after solid first half
Smith & Nephew reported a 1.8% improvement in its reported revenue for the first half on Wednesday, with that figure rising to $2.49bn, while it operating profit rose to $419m from $372m for the six months ended 29 June.
The FTSE 100 medical technology company said its operating profit margin improved to 16.8% from 15.3% year-on-year, with cash generated from operations rising to $543m from $418m.
Earnings per share for the period increased to 35.3 US cents, from the 31.4 cents it reported at the same time a year ago.
Smith & Nephew said it saw “strong” mid-teens growth from its emerging markets geographies, led by China, which was up more than 30% in the second quarter.
It announced that it was raising its expected underlying revenue growth guidance range by 50 basis points to between 3.0% and 4.0%, while it left its trading profit margin guidance unchanged in the range of 22.8% to 23.2%.
“The positive momentum across the business globally in the first half of 2019 has led us to upgrade our full year revenue growth guidance,” said chief executive Namal Nawana.
“Organic revenue growth has been solid across all three franchises, with strong performance in emerging markets and global sports medicine.”
At the same time, Nawana noted that Smith & Nephew expanded its margin.
“We are delivering on our commitments to accelerate revenue growth, improve profitability and importantly make investments that support the long-term success of Smith & Nephew.”
Smith & Nephew raises revenue growth guidance after solid first half - Sharecast.com
