By Stuart Condie
SYDNEY---Hearing-implant manufacturer Cochlear cut its annual profit guidance, flagging a shrinking share of some slower-growing developed markets.
Australia-listed Cochlear said that the implant market across higher-value developed markets had grown at a slower rate than previously expected. Its market-share in some of those countries had also slipped slightly, it added.
Cochlear said it now expects an underlying net profit for the 12 months through June of between 390 million Australian dollars (US$253.5 million) and A$400 million. That represents roughly a 5% cut at the bottom end of the range.
It's the second time in four months that Cochlear, which developed the world's first hearing implant in the 1970s after its founder experimented with a blade of grass inside a shell found on an Australian beach, has downgraded its full-year outlook.
In February, Cochlear flagged an underlying net profit at the lower end of a previously announced A$410 million-A$430 million range. At the time, it cited factors including U.S. consumers delaying processor upgrades due to cost-of-living pressures.
Cochlear generated 62% of group revenue from implant sales in the first half of its current fiscal year, with 26% coming from services revenue.
On Thursday, it said that services revenue had fallen by more than expected. Cochlear had anticipated a single-digit percentage decline as demand for its most recent processor tailed off, but now expects a fall in the low double digits.
Cochlear expects the launch of a new processor and improved engagement with upgrade-ready users to lift services revenue in its next fiscal year, which begins July 1. It will launch a new implant system in Europe and Asia-Pacific this month.
Shares in Cochlear have slipped 23% since hitting a record in February 2024. The average analyst rating on the stock is hold, according to Visible Alpha.
Write to Stuart Condie at stuart.condie@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 11, 2025 19:35 ET (23:35 GMT)
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