Sales up, profit down at Phonak

Clario is a new hearing device Phonak says will push sales growth Keystone

The Phonak hearing systems group has reported a 39 per cent increase in sales in the first six months of the business year, but net profit tumbled.

Sales between April and September rose to SFr290 million ($175.23 million) but profit fell by 21.5 per cent to SFr26.7 million compared with the comparable period in 2000.

Operating profit during the reporting period fell by 12.1 per cent to SFr41.5 million. However, investment during the period almost doubled to SFr13.9 million.

The Unitron group, which was acquired at the beginning of the year, and Phonak USA accounted for the lion’s share of the investment.

Phonak said in a statement that internal growth of 7.5 per cent was “generally encouraging” because it indicated that the company continued to gain market share despite the tough situation on international markets.

The Phonak statement added that much stronger internal growth was expected during the second half of the year, fuelled by a range of new products, including the Claro device, which features the world’s first digital microphone.

The company, based in Stäfa in canton Zurich, is predicting annual sales revenues of SFr600 million, with operating profit roughly at the same level as the previous financial year.

swissinfo with agencies