Smith & Nephew (NYSE:SNN) said today that it took a $5 million hit during the third quarter from the hurricanes that devastated Texas and Puerto Rico and guided toward the low end of its outlook for the rest of the year.
The British orthopedics and wound care giant, which only reports profit numbers at the middle and end of the year, said Q3 sales grew 2.9% to $1.15 billion compared with the same period last year.
CEO Olivier Bohuon, who’s slated to step down at the end of the year, declined to comment on rumors about a possible takeover or sale of its divisions or about the Smith & Nephew stake taken by hedge fund Elliott Management, Reuters reported.
“We are not thinking about asset disposal at this stage at all,” Bohuon said. “We do not comment on rumor or speculation and we don’t comment on the identity of our investors unless required to do so under disclosure rules.”
“I am pleased with what we have achieved so far in 2017, where our focus on execution is delivering improvements in performance. Of particular note is the sustained nature of the market-beating growth from our knee implants franchise and the strong emerging markets recovery across the year. We delivered 3% revenue growth in the quarter, in-line with guidance despite the recent natural disasters in the Americas delaying some procedures,” the CEO said in prepared remarks. “After the quarter end we announced an agreement to acquire Rotation Medical. Its pioneering bio-inductive implant is a novel tissue regeneration technology for shoulder repair that treats an unmet clinical need and is highly complementary to our leading sports medicine shoulder portfolio.
“Looking ahead, our focus on accelerating the top-line is unchanged and we are also starting the next stage in our continuing drive to improve efficiency across the group. I am as determined as ever to keep pushing for further success, and to leave Smith & Nephew an even better company,” he said.
Smith & Nephew said it expects full-year revenue growth to come in at the low end of its 3% to 4% guidance, with profit margins also at the low end of its 20 to 70 basis point forecast.
