News and press

Recently, Coloplast released a very satisfying full year result and a long term ambition of performing in line with the best med-tech companies.

The ambition is to be fulfilled by developing even better products; and better products made in a responsible way. An example is the catheter series SpeediCath® Compact and the urine bag series SpeediBag® Compact which is free of PVC and phthalates.

“Acting responsibly is one of our core values, but it also helps us drive growth. Since we published our first Corporate Responsibility Report in March 2010, we’ve experienced an increased interest in the topic – from investors, healthcare professionals and buyers. It shows how closely our corporate responsibility activities are linked to our business,” says Jeppe Kromann Haarsted, Corporate Responsibility Manager.

Within the same financial year, the company has among other improvements reduced the number of injuries and minimised waste and CO2 emission per unit produced.

Selected facts from the report

Coloplast can offer phthalate free alternatives to 80% of our products containing classified phthalates. In 2008/09 the number was 60%. The goal is 100% in 2011.
Reduction of greenhouse gas emission by 3.3% per unit produced, and 6% less waste in 2009/10 compared to last year.
Injury rates have fallen by more than 50% over the last four years.
Eight ‘Access to Healthcare’ projects approved in developing countries with a budget of DKK 6.8 million.
38% of managers in Coloplast are women.
Employee satisfaction rate has increased within engagement, values and well-being. 92% of all employees responded.
Coloplast’s Corporate Responsibility Report covers the entire financial year and follows the international standard Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).

In 2002 Coloplast signed the UN Global Compact declaration and has since then been a member of the Dow Jones sustainability index and the FTSE4Good index.

Download the full report here

Generating growth of 8% and an EBIT margin of 21% that was up from 16% last year, Coloplast is announcing extremely satisfactory full-year 2009/2010 financial results, meeting the long-term financial targets some 12-24 months ahead of schedule.

"I'm very pleased with our performance," says CEO Lars Rasmussen.  

"We've delivered results that are consistent with our own and with the market's expectations. In addition, we've achieved our long-term targets of growing more than the market and an EBIT margin of 20% sooner than we had expected. Going forward we will seek a more balanced focus on growth and profitability than we have had over the recent years where our focus has been primarily on the bottom line.”

Gross profit was up by 15% to DKK 5,844m, for a gross margin of 61%, up from 58% last year.

The organic growth rates by business area were as follows: Ostomy Care 7%, Urology & Continence Care 9%. Sales in Wound & Skin Care were unchanged from last year.

Improvements are expected to continue in 2010/2011

For 2010/11 Coloplast expects an organic revenue growth of 6–8% and an EBIT margin of 23–25% for the upcoming financial year.

"We're now seeing the effects of relocating our production and of improving our cost discipline, and that makes us confident that we can improve our EBIT margin to 23–25% next year," says Lars Rasmussen.

Performing in line with the best

Coloplast's new long-term ambition is to continue to outgrow the market while achieving earnings margins that are in line with highest earners of the med-tech industry.

"As a business, Coloplast has made great strides during the past few years, and our ambition is to provide earnings that are in line with the best in our industry," says Lars Rasmussen.

"We intend to do that by developing and selling even better products, providing even better service to our customers, keep on enhancing our sales force and remain focused on cost discipline.”

Later today Coloplast will publish the company’s annual report. Click here to read it

Furthermore, Coloplast will also publish the company’s corporate responsibility report today. Click here to read it.

HUMLEBAEK, Denmark, and Minneapolis, Minnesota October 29, 2010 — Coloplast announced today that it has acquired Mpathy Medical, a fast growing company in women’s health, for a total cash consideration of USD 30m equal to DKK162m, potentially increasing to a total of USD 35m equal to DKK 189m, on a cash and debt free basis. The acquisition expands the Coloplast female health portfolio of innovative product technologies and surgical solutions for female stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse.

Mpathy Medical gives Coloplast the lightest weight mesh technologies in the world, less invasive pelvic restoration procedures, and an increased presence in the U.S. female pelvic health specialties market.

The Mpathy Medical acquisition is important in Coloplast’s strategy to build a strong market presence within the highly competitive USD 500m, US and EU female pelvic health specialties market. The acquisition positions Coloplast for technology leadership and accelerated growth.

“I am very happy to announce this mutually beneficial acquisition,” said Dave Amerson, Global Vice President, Coloplast Surgical Urology. “The acquisition of Mpathy will strengthen our presence in the female pelvic health market and raise the standard for innovation and patient outcomes in this market worldwide. We will leverage the strengths and best practices of both companies, which will give our customers access to an even stronger product portfolio and innovative solutions for restoring female pelvic health.”

Coloplast will combine the two companies’ complementary products into the Coloplast Surgical Urology division.

“I’m very proud of Mpathy’s accomplishments,” said James Browning, MD, founder and chief technology officer of Mpathy Medical, “and by being a part of Coloplast, we will improve our ability to provide technologically advanced surgical solutions to physicians, and improve outcomes for women.”

Coloplast will pursue an integration of personnel, operations and products designed to ensure business continuity and exceptional customer service.    

About Coloplast

Danish medical device company Coloplast develops products and services that make life easier for people with very personal and private medical conditions.

Working closely with the people who use our products, we create solutions that are sensitive to their special needs. We call this intimate healthcare.

Our business includes ostomy care, urology, continence care, and wound and skin care. We operate globally and employ more than 7,000 people worldwide.

In 2009, Coloplast opened the new North American headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The campus is LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and is home to one of the company’s three global research-and-development Innovation Centers. Others are located in Denmark and France.

To learn more about Coloplast, visit www.coloplast.com.

About Mpathy Medical

Mpathy Medical is a rapidly growing medical device company which has developed and brought to market a range of surgical solutions used to restore pelvic health to women.

Mpathy Medical’s core product lines – Restorelle®, Omnisure® and Minitape® – are used by surgeons specializing in urogynecology, gynaecology and urology to treat female stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and pelvic floor repair (PFR).

The company is headquartered in Glasgow, Scotland, with U.S. operations in Raynham, Massachusetts., and has received FDA 510(k) clearance to market in the U.S. and CE marking in the EU for all its medical devices.

To learn more about Mpathy Medical, visit www.mpathymedical.com.

17/09/2010  As the Wheelchair Rugby World Championships kickoff in Vancouver, Canada today, Coloplast once again features as one of the major sponsors.

In addition to the major sponsorship, local staff from Coloplast in Denmark, The United States and Canada will go to Vancouver to take active part in the event as volunteers. 

“We’ve been a major sponsor of wheelchair rugby for years and years. Not only is it an extremely action-packed and challenging sport. It also provides people with disabilities an opportunity to have fun and to compete at the very highest level. At this event, we are excited that some of our colleagues have decided to strengthen our involvement in wheelchair rugby by volunteering to work at the new player’s lounge”, says Clara Kobæk Larsen, International Project Manager in Global Marketing, who is one of the employees that will go to Vancouver.

Taking part as volunteers is also a great opportunity for the Coloplast staff to meet and talk to the athletes, who in many cases use Coloplast products on a daily basis.

“Besides helping out with a lot of practical stuff, I hope to get the chance to answer questions from some of the players and listen to their insights in relation to the use of our products”, Clara Kobæk Larsen adds.

A new feature at the Wheelchair Rugby World Championships in Vancouver is the player’s lounge, where the players of the 12 part-taking teams can relax, talk and spend a bit of leisure time in between their action-packed “Murderball” games. The lounge has been named The Coloplast Team Lounge and will be staffed by the volunteering Coloplast employees.

“We’re really looking forward to helping out at The Coloplast Team Lounge, which will be equipped with both Playstation and Nintendo Wii consoles, coffee stations and a comfortable lounge environment”, says Clara Kobæk Larsen.
 

Coloplast just launched a new foam dressing with silicone adhesive, Biatain Silicone, in the UK. Biatain Silicone combines the superior Biatain foam with the gentleness of the silicone adhesive delivering a versatile and easy-to-use wound care dressing. 

Biatain Silicone was developed following consultations with more than 1,000 nurses and doctors in five different countries, including the UK. The feedback provided Coloplast with valuable insights that have helped pave the way for the launch of the new silicone wound dressing.

Christoffer Melchior, Business Unit Director, Wound Care, Coloplast Ltd.:

“What the healthcare professionals asked us to do was to develop a flexible dressing that can be used for the treatment of many different kinds of wounds, including leg ulcers, non-infected diabetic foot ulcers, post operative wounds as well as second degree burns. By combining our popular foam dressing, Biatain, with a unique skin-friendly silicone adhesive, we’ve came up with Biatain Silicone, which makes it easier to apply, reposition and remove the dressing, thereby causing minimum of pain to our end-users.”

Biatain Silicone was launched in both France and Germany earlier this year. A recent survey among 101 French nurses and doctors has shown that 80 % would recommend Biatain Silicone to their colleagues and that another 94 % would probably or certainly prescribe Biatain Silicone to the end-users.

“The numbers prove that we’re not alone in thinking that this new product is great. Before today’s launch, we’ve also introduced a number of British nurses to Biatain Silicone and they became instant believers as soon as they got the chance to try the product. Biatain Silicone has silicone only where it is needed and foam where you need it”, Christoffer Melchior explains.

For further information, please go here

During the first 9 months of 2009/10 Coloplast shows organic growth of 7% and an EBIT margin of 20% against 15% last year.

Download the report

"I am very satisfied. We continue to improve our margins faster than expected even though we have had high costs this year due to the transfer of production. Furthermore, I am particularly pleased with the fact that we have increased growth in our Ostomy business from 3% to 7% in just one year", says CEO Lars Rasmussen.

Based on the results Coloplast now expects an EBIT margin for the year of 20% against the previous forecast of 19-20%. Consequently, Coloplast fulfills the long-term target of a profit margin of 20% this year.

"The results show that our long-term expectations have been ambitious, but realistic. For quite a long period now we have shown improvement in performance and cost discipline – a development which underlines the potential of Coloplast", says Lars Rasmussen.

Coloplast expects an organic growth rate for the year of 6-7% and 7-8% in DKK.

Coloplast’s donation programme Access to Healthcare just signed a contract with the World Diabetes Foundation (WDF) about a new healthcare project in India. The project aims to improve treatment of diabetic wounds.

"Every single day, 110 Indians have a foot or part of their leg amputated due to diabetic foot ulcers, and an unknown number die before they are even diagnosed” says Per Ole Nielsen, Project Manager of Access to Healthcare.

Training in diagnosis and care of diabetic wounds is essential to reduce this figure. 

“With the right knowledge, treatment may be deployed rapidly and the wound may heal in time, avoiding an amputation - that is why education projects like this are so important," says Dr. Arun Bal, Founder President of the Diabetic Foot Society of India, who as local partner applied for support to drive the project.

Dr. Anil Kapur, Managing Director of the World Diabetes Foundation and Chairman of the Access to Health Care Donation Board agrees.

“It only costs three US dollars to educate a diabetes patient so he will be able take care of his feet and prevent foot ulcers, whereas it costs an estimated 650 dollars to amputate a limb and another 524 dollars for a limb prosthesis. Costs like these put people into lifelong indebtedness” says Anil Kapur. “We are proud to support this project together with Coloplast, and we hope our joint funding will improve the quality of life for poor and disadvantaged people suffering from foot ulcers and foot complications.” 

As part of the project, the Diabetic Foot Society of India will train 2,280 healthcare professionals in modern wound care treatment supported by Access to Healthcare and the World Diabetes Foundation.

The wound care project is one of three projects that we operate in India. The other two projects are also educational projects – one about ostomy care and the other about spinal cord injuries (see facts). All projects are designed to increase doctors and nurses' knowledge of treatment and care of taboo and neglected diseases within wound, ostomy and continence care.  

“Coloplast develops products and services for people with personal and private medical conditions. These conditions are treated well in the western world, but in developing countries, like India, they hardly get any attention. The knowledge level is low, and the consequences for these people are large,” Per Ole Nielsen ends.

FACTS ABOUT THE THREE PROJECTS SUPPORTED BY ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE

National Wound Care Training Workshops

When: February 2010 – July 2012

Where: India

Who: Applicant: Amrita Institute of medical Sciences/Diabetic Foot Society

Partners:

• World Diabetes Foundation
• European Wound Management Association

When: February 2010 – July 2012

Objective: To create a better environment for people living with chronic wounds. The training of doctors and nurses will take place in workshops at selected hospitals in 11 out of India’s 27 states. Money for the project is donated by Access to Healthcare/Coloplast and WDF.

Results: 2,880 medical professionals will be trained in modern wound management practice and concepts and a national cadre of wound care workers/specialists will be founded. The aim is to reduce the number of foot amputations by 10 % from 2010 and to create awareness among patients about the importance of early and proper treatment of chronic wounds.

National Stoma Care Nursing Education Program Where: India

Who: Applicant: International Ostomy Association (IOA)

Partners:

• World Council of Enterostomal Therapists (WCET)
• Association of Surgeons of India (ASI)

When: February 2010 – January 2013

Objective: iIncrease the level of knowledge and strengthen the skills and experience within stoma care. We aim to improve patient’s quality of life by providing professional stoma care management and reduce the chances of ostomy complications. This will increase the status and recognition of stoma care nurses in India.

Results: 4,500 nurses will complete a theoretical online stoma care education programme and a total of 1,400 nurses will be educated in stoma care both in theory and practice.

Spinal Cord Injury workshop

Where: India

Who: Applicant: Spinal Cord Society – Indian chapter

Partners:

• International Spinal Cord Society (ISCOS
• Asian Spinal Cord Network
• World Health Organisation

When: 1 October 2010 – 3 October 2010

What: A 3-day workshop on the basic principles of SCI-management before the ISCOS Annual Scientific Meeting

Objective: In India, approximately 1.5 million people live with a Spinal Cord Injury. Every year 10,000 new cases are added to this group (Source: Spinal Cord Society).

The project aims at raising awareness about and drive progress for people living with spinal cord injuries,

Results: Healthcare professionals will be trained in spinal cord injuries. The participants will raise awareness about SCI in their local environment.