Smith+Nephew (NYSE: SNN) shares dipped today on fourth-quarter results that included nearly 7% sales growth year-over-year.
Shares of SNN fell 2% to $27.97 apiece in late-afternoon trading.
The London-based orthopedic giant posted sales of $1.458 million in the quarter. That marked 6.8% growth compared to the same period a year ago.
Smith+Nephew says it continues to make progress on its 12-point plan, seeing it translate into financial outcomes. That dates back to 2022, when the company outlined aims to transform itself with this plan. It aims to improve execution and drive strategy for growth. That includes fixing orthopedics, improving productivity and accelerating wound management and sports medicine growth.
The company highlighted its innovation strategy driving higher growth and delivering a pipeline of new products. Its acquisition of CartiHeal in particular strengthened the company’s leadership in sports medicine and biological healing. CEO Deepak Nath cited the need to enhance U.S. reconstruction efforts, but he sees a clear improvement path for orthopedics.
With the plan in motion, Smith+Nephew expects revenue growth between 4.6% and 5.6% in 2024.
“I am pleased with our overall performance in 2023, as our actions to transform Smith+Nephew have begun to translate into meaningful financial outcomes. We delivered revenue growth ahead of guidance for the full year and made important improvements to our trading profit margin against a challenging macro-environment,” Nath said. “Our investment in innovation continues to deliver, with almost half of our 2023 growth coming from products launched in the last five years. We were pleased to add major launches in robotics, shoulder arthroplasty and negative pressure wound therapy to the portfolio during the year. We have entered 2024 as a fundamentally stronger business and look forward to delivering another year of robust growth and further margin expansion.”