Smith & Nephew hit by currency headwinds

Interim profits at medical technology firm Smith & Nephew were hit by currency headwinds, the company said on Thursday.

Pre-tax profits for the period fell to $453m from $481m while trading profits were lower at $483m compared with $512m a year ago.

Group revenue for the first half was up 2% to $2.3bn. A foreign exchange headwind of -2% was partially offset by acquisitions, which added 1% to the reported growth rate, the company said.

It added that emerging markets improved from the previous quarter, “despite conditions in China and the Gulf States remaining challenging”.

“We expect our performance in China to begin to improve in the second half,” the company said.