Smith & Nephew Q3 revenues touch lighter than expected

Medical equipment maker Smith & Nephew posted slightly lower-than-expected third-quarter revenues on Thursday as it said revenue growth for the full year was set to be in the middle of the previously guided range.

Revenue for the quarter came in at $1.25bn, up 4.8% on the same period a year earlier on an underlying basis, but down 1.2% on a reported basis due to a 600 basis points forex headwind. Analysts had been expecting revenue of $1.26bn.

S&N said all franchises and geographies contributed to the underlying revenue growth. Orthopaedics revenue rose 2.1%. Excluding China, it was up 5.6%. Revenues from sports medicine & ENT grew 7.1%, with recent product launches performing well.

Meanwhile, the advanced wound management segment saw revenues rise 6%.

The company said full-year underlying revenue growth was expected to be in the middle of the previously guided range of 4% to 5%, while guidance for the trading profit margin was unchanged at around 17.5%.

Chief executive Deepak Nath said: "Last quarter we set out our 12-point plan to improve business performance. We are executing at pace and have recorded a number of early successes, including reducing backorders and improving instrument set deployment in Orthopaedics.

"We also continue to deliver innovative new products and build on the value of our technology. During the quarter we became the first company to receive FDA approval for robotics-assisted revision knee surgery, launched a superabsorbent wound dressing, and published compelling new rotator-cuff repair data for REGENETEN."