Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) is looking double its emerging markets presence over the next 2 years as it seeks to catch up with larger competitors like Medtronic (NYSE:MDT), CEO Mike Mahoney told investors in San Francisco today.
Mahoney, speaking at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, said the company derived about 10% of its total sales from emerging markets in Brazil, Russia, India and China during the 3-months ended Sept. 30, 2014, an 18% increase from the same period in 2013.
In 2012, the company netted about 8% of its sales from markets, according to a company presentation. Mahoney said Boston Scientific’s goal is to have emerging markets make up 15% of total sales by 2017, as it looks to boost its international footprint overall. Domestic sales make up about 52% of Boston Scientific’s revenues, but the Marlborough, Mass.-based company is hoping to push that to about 46% by 2017.
Expanding its presence in emerging markets is 1 of 5 strategic imperatives Mahoney said the company is putting forward in 2015 and beyond.
Emerging markets have been a part of the long-range plans for Boston Scientific since at least 2011, when the company launched a 5-year, $150 million investment aimed at increasing its footprint in China. The company increased that investment in 2013 by opening up a Shanghai branch of its Institute for Advancing Science and boosting its Chinese workforce by nearly 25%.
Increasing the company’s emerging market sales to 15% of its total revenue would bring Boston Scientific in line with Medtronic, which counts about 13% of its $17 billion in total sales from emerging markets.
