News and press

For the first time, the medical device company Coloplast sets a target for reducing its CO2 emissions from production. The goal is an absolute reduction of 10 percent* in the next three years. 

To see our Multimedia News Release, please visit:

http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/prne/coloplastas/52802/

"Even though we expect an 8 percent increase in production, we aim to reduce our total CO2 emissions by 10 percent within the next three years," says Allan Rasmussen, SVP Global Operations.

CO2 reductions lead to cost savings

Coloplast is determined to increase efficiency and thereby reduce emissions.

"Production is one of the areas where Coloplast inevitably will emit CO2, but through moderate investments in energy efficiency measures, we actually get cost savings while minimizing our environmental impact," says Allan Rasmussen.

From air to sea

Transportation is another area with big potential CO2 reductions.

"Today, airfreight only makes up a few percent of our total transportation, but it remains the biggest source of CO2 emissions from our transportation. That’s why we are working to shift transport from flights to sea carriage to the greatest extent possible," says Allan Rasmussen.

* Coloplast’s total CO2 compared to the GHG protocol Scope 1 and Scope 2.

Coloplast facts:

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 and continence care, and wound and skin care. We operate globally and employ more than 7,500 people.

Nearly 400 people from across the world recently took part in Coloplast's 5th symposium on current topics in spinal cord injury, including doctors, nurses and consumers.

Healthcare systems are changing

"We noticed in some of the voting we did that almost three quarters of the people said that their health care system is going through some kind of change, says Dr Gerben DeJong, PhD. 

"So it's really important to know where healthcare is going and where products such as Coloplast's really fit in." 
See more reactions from the symposium in our video below.

Great feedback from participants

“I have spoken to both participants and speakers and they all think this 5th SCI Symposium have been the best one so far. I’m looking forward to next year, where we aim to do it even better,” Mads Ransby Olsen says.
Eighty percent of the participating doctors and nurses work in a setting that specializes in spinal cord injury care.

For Audrey, a 25-year old French Peristeen user, who was left paraplegic after an accident five years ago, Peristeen has been an important step towards a more independent life.

As Audrey has experienced, Peristeen® effectively prevents faecal incontinence and constipation. It changed her life from uncertainty to predictability as she became able to decide when and where to empty her bowels. This has given her the confidence to do the things that matter to her.

The answer to whether or not we in Coloplast should accept bribes or take nurses out on expensive dinners is just plain common sense – right?
Not necessarily. Often times, situations arise in our daily work where we question - what exactly is the rule here? It may surprise you for example to discover that in the U.S. Coloplast isn't allowed to give nurses Coloplast mugs. And did you know our competitors also have to follow the same rules we do?

New Code of Conduct

The answer to these questions and more can be found inside Coloplast's new company Code of Conduct.  
In order to make this not so black and white topic a little clearer we’ve also launched a new set of reader friendly Code of Conduct Guidelines interpreting all the rules. Further, all white collar employees in Coloplast are required to pass an online e-learning test on the Code of Conduct.

Latest CR Report

Find out what Coloplast is doing to monitor compliance, exactly what a facilitation payment is and more in this year’s Corporate Responsibility Report.

Coloplast sponsors the newly launched co-creation community Innovationbyyou.com.

Now end users with both stoma and continence issues work together with Coloplast engineers to solve various intimate care challenges and develop new products and accessories. 

John Raabo Nielsen, Senior Vice President of Global R&D, explains why Coloplast is so committed to co-creation, and how “Innovation by you” supports that commitment.

Also, John exclusively unveiled the first accessory product developed building on co-creation between end users and Coloplast.

Revenue increased by 7% to DKK 10,172m, and the EBIT margin was 25% compared to 21% in the same period last year. Thereby, Coloplast presented a satisfying full-year result for the financial year 2010/2011.

Read the announcement: English Danish

“I’m very pleased with the full-year result,” says CEO Lars Rasmussen.

“We continued to grow more than the market and we have increased our EBIT margin from 21% to 25%. I’m very happy that we can, once again, present strong business results that meet our own expectations.”

The full-year result increased by 46% to DKK 1,819m, and earnings per share (EPS) also increased by 46% to DKK 42.6 compared to the same period last year.

Looking at the individual business areas, growth was 8% in Ostomy Care, 8% in Continence Care and 9% in Urology Care, whereas growth in Wound & Skin Care products was negative by 1% compared to last year.

“I’m particularly pleased with the continued very positive growth in our chronic care business areas Ostomy- and Continence Care, where especially emerging markets and the UK contributed to the positive development,” Lars Rasmussen says.

“Sales in the smaller business Wound Care still wasn’t satisfactory and is still characterised by price pressure and fierce competition in the European markets.”

As a result of Coloplast’s strong liquidity, the Board of Directors has decided to initiate another share buy-back programme for a total amount of up to DDK 1bn, running until the end of the financial year 2012/13. The share buy-back programme for the financial year 2010/11 is completed.

The Board of Directors will furthermore recommend that the shareholders attending the annual general meeting 7 December 2011 approve a dividend of DKK 14,00 per share. That is an increase of 40% compared to the financial year 2009/10.

Financial expectations for 2011/12

Organic revenue growth for 2011/12 is expected to remain unchanged at around 6%. Growth in DKK is also expected to remain at around 6%. The EBIT margin is expected to be around 27% both at constant exchange rates and in DKK.

“I’m really just playing the slowest game in the world,” says Melanie Reid, a Times Magazine columnist, who suffered spinal cord injury last year.

Peristeen has helped her become independent on the bowel front, she says. 

Last year, Melanie Reid fell from a horse and broke her neck. In her Times Magazine column on 10 September 2011, she gives an account of her recovery process.

“This is a far lengthier and more arduous task than anyone ever dared tell me, because spinal cord, once damaged, will always be damaged.”

Melanie is still totally dependent on her wheelchair even though she has regained some movement and sensation in parts of her body.

Reclaiming independence

Having spinal cord injury brings about many challenges and bowel issues are a common concern. 

But Melanie has found a solution that works.

“In terms of personal care, I am fully independent on the bowel front, which is a miracle actually, given my level of injury, and is entirely down to the support of my district nurse Helen and a clever system called Peristeen. 

“I no longer live in dread of a bowel meltdown,” Melanie says. 

Recently, SpeediCath® Compact Male won a prestigious gold Medical Design Excellence Award in New York. 

Now, more recognition follows in France and Denmark.

"A true blockbuster product." 

This was just one of the references made to SpeediCath® Compact Male, as it won us a gold Medical Design Excellence Award in New York just a couple of months ago.  

In France, SpeediCath® Compact Male has just been awarded the “l’observeur du design” award - a prestigious design prize awarded to innovative products, which change the lives of end users to the better.

“We're very honoured that SpeediCath® Compact Male has been awarded such a prestigious award as the “l’observeur du design”. It's living proof of the true value and positive impact this product has on the daily life of our end users”, says Giuseppe Battente, former Senior Manager of Intermittent Catheters, Global Marketing, now Sales Director in Coloplast Italy.

As an award winning product, SpeediCath® Compact Male will be on display at “la cite des sciences et de l’industrie” in Paris from 9 November 2011 to 11 March 2012.

Award nomination in Denmark

In addition to winning the “l’observeur du design”, SpeediCath® Compact Male was recently nominated for

“Produktprisen” (The Danish Product Award), which is awarded by The Danish Centre of Design and the Danish trade newspaper Ingeniøren (The Engineer).

SpeediCath® Compact Male has been nominated in the health and med tech category. The winning products will be announced over the course of this fall.

Coloplast nurse, Claire Lowther, was recently named 'Nurse of the year' by Ostomy Lifestyle!

"Winning the award was amazing. To have patients say „we think you're the best‟ is fantastic, it's the best credit a nurse could ask for," says Claire, clinical nurse specialist.

The annual Ostomy Lifestyle Awards are given for outstanding contributions and achievements within stoma care. This year it went to Claire.  

"I love my job. Every day I feel privileged to be able to care and support individuals who are going through such major surgery. The specialist field of nursing gives me great satisfaction, this is just an added bonus. - thanks to all who voted for me"

Claire started her career as a ward nurse before becoming a sister on a colorectal ward. Five years later she became a stoma nurse and has spent the past ten years supporting people with a stoma. 

Wendy Osborn, Claire's manager, is thrilled for Claire. 

“The award called for a nurse who gives individual attention to her patients, who responds well to the needs of patients and their families, who is pro-active in their field of expertise and shows professional excellence at all time. Claire meets all of these and goes above and beyond the call of duty.

Sam Sedwill, Human Resources Director in the UK adds.

“We’re really proud to have one of our rewarded with this prestigious award," says Sam. "To be nominated by your patients to be “nurse of the year” is a great compliment and is at the heart of what it means to be a Coloplast nurse. We listen, we care and we want to make our patients’ life easier. That’s the essence and I’m proud that we’ve been recognized for it.”

Life has taught me that whatever your dream is, simply do it!

Paolo, Pilot and flight instructor, Italy.

A parachuting accident left Paolo Pocobelli paralysed, but that hasn’t stopped him reaching for the skies.

Literally speaking!

Coloplast’s Q3 2010/11 financial statements showed that revenue increased by 8% to DKK 7,601m and the EBIT margin was 24% compared to 20% in the same period last year.

Read the report: English Danish

”I’m satisfied with the results. We continue to improve profit and grow more than the market and thereby we meet both our own and the market’s expectations”, says CEO Lars Rasmussen.

The Ostomy Care business area showed an organic growth of 7% and the Urology and Continence Care business showed an organic growth of 8%.

”I’m very pleased with the positive development in our Chronic Care business areas Ostomy Care and Continence Care. Growth is primarily driven by Emerging Markets and the UK. Furthermore, growth rates in the U.S. have slightly improved compared to last quarter’s unsatisfactory growth,” says Lars Rasmussen.

The gross profit increased by 14% to DKK 4,860m equaling a gross margin of 64% against 61% in the same period last year. The Q3 growth in DKK was 7%.

Continued Wound Care commitment

Wound and Skin Care showed positive growth in Q3 at 3% which took growth for the first nine months of 2010/11 from negative to flat. Despite the positive development Wound Care growth was negative by 1%.

“We are pleased to see signs of an improving trend but a 1% drop in revenue is not satisfactory,” says Lars Rasmussen.

“Despite the current tough market environment we believe that the Wound Care market is attractive and it fits well into our portfolio of healthcare activities. This means that we remain committed to the business. However, in light of the continued adverse market conditions on most European markets we no longer believe that growth will return in Wound Care in 2011.”

Financial guidance for 2010/11

The organic revenue growth is still expected to be around 6%. Growth in DKK is expected to be around 7%. The EBIT margin is still expected to be 24-25% both at constant exchange rates and in DKK.

Through Coloplast Care, we stay close to our end users in the first, most important year after their surgery/injury. But how does Care work in practice?

Below is a video featuring one of our end users, a real beneficiary of the programme. It also shows our colleagues, who actually make the calls and speak with our end users.

Enjoy!

In Coloplast, we're committed to minimizing the negative impact on the environment by the production and use of our products.
We aim to use a minimum of packaging for our products. 
Since 31 January, all materials in the SpeediCath series has been packed in new white boxes and with a brand new print ‘100% PVC and phthalate free’.
And that's exactly what they are. 
With the new boxes.... 

Coloplast employee Zoltán Burger, recently received national recognition for his outstanding work on our volunteer Coloplast Hazard Team.

Zoltán works in Tatabánya, Hungary, as a technician. He joined us in 2002, and has been a member of our hazard team from day one.

He is one of only five people in Hungary to receive this award from the Interior Ministry's National Directorate for Disaster Management. 

This is the first time a Coloplast employee has won this award.

Congratulations Zoltán!

The Danish company Coloplast won two awards in the Medical Design Excellence Awards (MDEA) for their new catheter for men, SpeediCath® Compact Male, and the urine collection bag Conveen® Active.

On 8 June 2011, SpeediCath® Compact Male, Coloplast’s discreet intermittent catheter for men, won a gold award at the Medical Design Excellence Award (MDEA), the leading award for manufacturing companies that change the face of healthcare through groundbreaking innovations.

Coloplast also won a silver award for its new urine bag, Conveen® Active.

“Focused innovation pays off”

The ceremony took place during the Medical Design & Manufacturing East 2011 Conference and Exposition in New York City.

R&D Senior Scientist Thomas Nesa Gogotic accepted the award on behalf of Coloplast.

“Winning these two categories shows that our user-centric approach and heavy focus on innovation is working. It also tells us that we actually stand out in terms of creating valuable products for patients, Thomas says and continues:

“We’ll keep working to find new ways to make life easier for our end users, and our new catheter and urine bag are just part of this ongoing mission.”

Multiple factors decide who wins

SpeediCath® Compact Male won in the category “Over-the-counter and self-care products” while Conveen® Active won an award for “General hospital devices and therapeutic products”.

To find the winners, the MDEA panel of jurors looked at the nominated companies’ innovative use of materials and processes; the design and engineering challenges that were overcome; and design and engineering features that provide enhanced benefits to the patient – e.g. comfort, fit, safety, appropriate aesthetics, etc.

At the European Association of Urology Nurses’ annual congress in Vienna, “discretion” was the message that Daniel – a SpeediCath® Compact Male end user  from the UK – delivered to over 200 nurses. 

“I can go to the pub now!” he told the audience. “I don’t have to carry around a big bag full of catheters. I can just put it in my back pocket – so good bye bag, hello back pocket!”

Daniel is 36. Five years ago he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. He gets around on his mobility scooter, but on bad days he’s not very mobile.

Daniel said it’s hard to accept his limitations, and he hates being pushed in a wheelchair. 

At the congress, he insisted on standing at the podium to address the audience. It required a lot of concentration, not to mention speaking to over 200 people.

Daniel’s very happy that he’s now “able to do more”, and the nurses really enjoyed listening to him. After all – who wouldn’t be glad to be able to “go to the pub, again?!

One of Scandinavia’s biggest investment banks, the Norwegian Storebrand Bank, recently named Coloplast the most sustainable company in the healthcare industry.

In their latest rating of healthcare companies, the Norwegian financial services company, Storebrand, recognized Coloplast’s social, environmental and ethical performance. Through this ranking we have earned the prestigious Best in Class mandate.  

“It’s a great honour for us to receive an award like this,” says Jeppe Kromann Haarsted, Corporate Responsibility Manager, Coloplast. “The ‘Best in Class’ status proves that we were right to invest in Corporate Responsibility and I’m happy that our efforts are noticed by the outside world.”

The rating is based on an analysis of 30 global healthcare companies. Companies are rated on their approach to health and safety and on environmental and ethical issues.

According to Storebrand, Coloplast demonstrates best practice through our responsible supply chain management programme, our anti-corruption policy, our reduction in injury rates, our phthalate policy, and our waste reduction

Previous winners of the award – in our industry and other - include Adidas, Mærsk, Nike, Novo Nordisk and Novozymes.

With the dual launch of SenSura® Post-Op and SenSura® Magnum, we now complete our Hospital Assortment. 

Effective and easy to use

The soft, funnel-shaped outlet on the Post-Op bag ensures effective drainage and the clear window makes it easy for the nurse to inspect the stoma. Magnum is designed for people with an ileostomy who experience a need for extra high capacity.

Coloplast also recently launched the SenSura® Mio ostomy bag that fits individual bodies.

One of Scandinavia’s biggest investment banks, Storebrand Bank from Norway recently named Coloplast the most sustainable company in the healthcare industry.

We beat thirty other global healthcare companies for the title. Previous winners of this award – both in our industry and in others – include Adidas, Mærsk, Nike, Novo Nordisk, and Novozymes.

Why us?

Coloplast were rated on our approach to health, safety, environmental, and ethical issues.
“They were particularly impressed by our responsible supply chain management programme, our anti-corruption policy, our reduction in injury rate, our phthalate policy, and our waste reduction,” says Jeppe Kromann Haarsted, Corporate Responsibility Manager. (Read about these topics -  and more - in our Corporate Responsibility report.)

What did we do?

“We won because our people take these issues seriously,” Jeppe says. “Our Environment, Health and Safety managers in the production teams are very committed and our colleagues in Corporate Procurement make sure our suppliers meet our ethical standards.
“When it comes to phthalates, we decided to communicate openly about a sensitive issue, and we’ve been recognized for that.”

What does this award mean for us?

“The ‘Best in Class’ status proves that we were right to talk frankly about Corporate Responsibility,” says Jeppe. “I’m happy that our efforts are noticed by the outside world. I think it makes Coloplast more reliable and thus more attractive company.”

Two of our colleagues have been named among the top business talents in Denmark.

Anders Holm and Christian Jølck were featured in a special "Top 100 Talents" issue of Berlingske News Magazine, Denmark's major business magazine.

The annual issue features 100 profiles on up-and-coming talents under 35 years old. They are chosen for their academic abilities, management skills, and professional track record.

Our customers are just as excited about SpeediCath® Compact Male as we are.

Our new BodyFit® Technology was the focus of a recent article in Ingeniøren, a Danish magazine for engineers. The article and an illustration is available in Danish on the magazine’s website or in this translation.

For 26-year-old Dutchman Jaap, comedy is far more than a way of dealing with his paralysis, it’s a full-time occupation.

Jaap was injured four-and-a-half years ago in a diving accident in Portugal. Jaap soon realised that his sense of humour was the key to coming to terms with his paralysis.

He explains: “Humour had already helped me put things in perspective, but then after a while the comedy just exploded – in a good way – and now I’m a professional comedian!” 

For Jaap, nothing comes close to the feeling of being on stage, but just as important to him is being able to bring hope into other people’s lives: “The beauty of what I do is that I get the chance to inspire other people. There is so much negativity in healthcare, and a positive story can mean a lot to someone. I really get a kick out of that”. 

“Sometimes I say, my neck is broken but not my spirit. That’s really what it’s all about. Even if something happens to you, it doesn’t mean you should lose your drive. Re-evaluate, look ahead and then go 100% after whatever it is you’re going for”.

Visit Jaap's website:  www.sitdowncomedy.nl

Coloplast’s H1 2010/11 financial statements show that revenue increased by 10% to DKK 5,004m and the EBIT margin was 24% compared to 20% in the same period last year.

Read the report:  English Danish.

”I am pleased that we continue to improve earnings and deliver an EBIT margin of 24%. At the same time we have increased our market shares in the Chronic Care business”, says CEO Lars Rasmussen.

”We have now finalized the relocation of our volume production to Hungary and China which has taken place over the last 10 years. The result is clear. We have succeeded in reducing costs and improving both quality and efficiency while at the same time increasing employee satisfaction.”

The gross profit increased by 15% to DKK 3,189m equaling a gross margin of 64% against 61% in the same period last year. The Q2 growth in DKK was 8%.

Nice growth, but challenges within Wound Care and the USA

The Ostomy Care business area as well as the Urology and Continence business area both showed an organic growth of 7%.

“I am pleased with the development in Ostomy Care where we have seen very satisfactory sales, especially in the United Kingdom and Emerging Markets”, says Lars Rasmussen.

The Wound and Skin Care business showed a negative growth of 2%.

”The development that we see in Wound and Skin Care is of course not satisfactory. We still expect growth within this financial year. However, we realize that growth shows more slowly than expected.”

In the American market sales development in general does not meet expectations. Therefore, organizational changes were recently implemented. Claus Bjerre, former SVP Emerging Markets, has taken on responsibility for Chronic Care in the USA.

”With Claus Bjerre in charge we wish to strengthen growth even more in the American business,” says Lars Rasmussen.

New definition of the financial guidance for 2010/11

The organic revenue growth has been narrowed to about 6% against previously 6-8%. In DKK a growth of about 6% is expected against previously 8-10%. We expect an EBIT margin of 24-25% against previously 23-25%, both at constant exchange rates and in DKK.

Continued focus on profitable growth

While Coloplast has given higher priority to the bottom line than to growth during the company turnaround, focus is now balanced on both growth and bottom line.

”We continue to focus on both profitability and growth. Our long-term growth initiatives proceed according to the plan with a strong and innovative product portfolio and investments in the sales forces,” says Lars Rasmussen.

In April Coloplast launched the SenSura® Mio – an ostomy bag with a brand new and elastic adhesive adjusting to individual body contours. The product has been very well received.

Fantastic elastic! 

On 1 April we launched SenSura® Mio - the first ever elastic adhesive in Ostomy Care. 

It’s specifically designed to fit individual body shapes.  

The elastic adhesive is based on BodyFit™ Technology. It's pliable to individual body contours and maintains a secure fit thanks to its ability to respond to natural body movements.

And our end users are loving it.

Coloplast has just been honoured with three design awards, two international, and one French award. 
SpeediCath® Compact Male has won the French design award, Janus de la Santé, and an international Medical Design Excellence Award (MDEA). Conveen® Active also won one of the prestigious MDEA awards.
“One thing is that we think we have a great products, but to get that backed by professionals and customers is simply great," says Stig Lykke Iversen, Director Chemistry & Biology, Global Research and Development at Coloplast.

It's been one month since Japan and our colleagues were struck by the earthquake that dominated international news for weeks. Tremors have occurred regularly ever since.

In the days and weeks after the earthquake, our call center received 60% more calls than the previous record: Our end users were running out of products. 

Luckily we were able to rent a two-ton truck and a driver, so that we were able to reach our end users in the affected areas.  

At times like these, our number one priority is to supply as many products as possible to people in need.

We hope to have reached them all!

Last Thursday, CEO Lars Rasmussen gave an interview to Dow Jones. They published that story Friday.
The Wall Street Journal picked it up the same day.

Below is the full text.

INTERVIEW: Coloplast CEO Eyes Boosting Medical Gear Sales, Buys

Danish medical device maker Coloplast A/S (COLO-B.KO) says it's investing heavily to ramp up sales and product development and already has credit facilities in place for potential new acquisitions which it wants to spur earnings growth. 

Copenhagen-listed Coloplast, which sells "intimate healthcare" products such as catheters, penile implants and ostomy pouches, leads the global market for chronic ostomy and continence care, a segment that's expanding as the world's population ages and emerging economies expand their healthcare coverage. 

Driven by rising sales and improving margins, Coloplast's stock has more than doubled in value over the past two years, outperforming the overall Danish market. 

Still, some analysts are concerned that the momentum could fade away. 

In a note to investors Friday, brokerage Cheuvreux reiterated its underperform rating for Coloplast, saying that the market may overestimate the company's potential to continue raising profits. 

But the Danish medical device maker's chief executive insists Coloplast is hugely focused on using its momentum within chronic care and raising its sales growth in that segment further. 

"We must create stable long-term growth there, so that's were we invest most right now," Lars Rasmussen told Dow Jones Newswires in an interview. Innovative and convenient new product offerings are key to its growth plans, the CEO added. 

Coloplast recently launched new SpeediCath catheters which are much smaller than rivalling devices. In April, it will start selling ostomy pouches under the SenSura brand which are particularly elastic. Rasmussen said the company is also rolling out a new service concept in the U.S. and Europe to help patients with questions and product issues. 

The company, which in October paid $30 million for Mpathy, a U.K.-based maker of surgical urology products, is also mulling fresh takeover targets, Rasmussen said. 

"Acquisitions are of course a part of what we are looking at now." He added that his company can use its steady cash flow and low debt to fund an eventual takeover. 

Still, antitrust concerns are an obstacle to acquisition-driven growth within the ostomy and continence business, especially in Europe where Coloplast's presence is strongest. 

If Coloplast should find a viable acquisition target, it can raise its net debt from currently 0.7 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization to over 2.5 times Ebitda in order to finance a takeover, Rasmussen said. 

[Note from Coloplast: Our net debt/ EBITDA ratio was 0.7 end of last quarter. Our long term target is a ratio of 1.5 – 2.5. If the right acquisition emerges Coloplast feel very confident that we can support a significantly higher leverage at 3.5 temporarily, but it’s difficult to say without a specific asset in mind.]

The company's Ebitda was 2.58 billion Danish kroner ($490 million) in the fiscal year 2009/2010. 

Besides boosting sales, Coloplast aims to raise its profit margins. Methods include trimming its product portfolio, which includes many older devices, Rasmussen said. 

Helped by recently finalized production relocations from Denmark to lower-cost Hungary and China, Coloplast has lifted its operating profit margin to 24% in the current financial year from 20% in the first quarter of the previous fiscal year, Rasmussen said. The aim is to bring that in line with Coloplast's best-performing peers, at around 27%.

[Note from Coloplast: The 27% mentioned is the average EBIT Margin of our peer group upper quartile, March 2011. Coloplast’s long term ambition is to perform in line with the best performing med tech companies].

Coloplast has few listed direct competitors. It does have an established peer group of comparable companies such as U.K.-based clinical device maker Smith & Nephew PLC (SN.LN), Swedish medical technology firm Getinge AB (GETI-B.SK) and Danish hearing aid maker William Demant Holding A/S (WDH.KO). 

Coloplast has in recent years worked to improve profitability at its small Wound and Skin Care business, which has been less profitable than the other units, but is now shifting focus there from efficiency to growth, Rasmussen said. 

"It's a quite sizable amount of money we're spending this year to get the growth back," he said. For instance, the company has just established a new sales force aimed at home care nurses rather than hospitals in order to help boost growth. 

Wound and Skin Care only made up 15% of Coloplast's first-quarter sales, and the company may well pursue acquisitions to give the business some critical mass, said Rasmussen. But the unit should first be strong enough to outgrow its wider market, he added and predicted it is likely to match the market's growth rate by the end of the current financial year. 

By Gustav Sandstrom, Dow Jones Newswires; +46-8-5451-3099; gustav.sandstrom@dowjones.com

One-hundred twenty-eight people work for Coloplast in Japan, most in and around Tokyo.

When the earthquake happened Friday afternoon, Coloplast Japan automatically sent text messages and e-mails to all employees. By that night, all had responded that they were okay.

Many employees spent the night in our tenth-floor Tokyo office.

Our employees found a two-ton truck, and negotiated with police to obtain a very hard-to-get permit. These two things allowed us to distribute emergency products to our Japanese end users, which we began doing today. (As the chair of the Japan Ostomy Appliance Organization, we are delivering products of ours and others.)

For more information, contact Ulla Lundhus.

"This is my great challenge"
Barry O, disability campaigner, England. 

Barry, 64, is in a wheelchair due to a fall from a ladder. 

His never-say-die attitude has kept him motivated through rehabilitation and now in his role as a disability campaigner.

We want to set the global standard for listening and responding to our end users. 

To do that, we need to be good at sharing and making the best use of end user knowledge. 

A recent workshop focused on doing just that. 

The goal: to improve our ability to listen and respond to our end users. 

Still some way to go

But do we need to improve? According to Henrietta Madsen, Project Manager at Coloplast, we do.   
Henrietta, are we bad at listening and responding?

“Sometimes we are. We must become better at documenting what customers tell us to ensure our response is focused and to the point.

"And make sure that the whole organization makes use of it." 

So how do we do that?

"We're already doing it - we just need to be more consistent."

"We really value all end user input and it's our responsibility to use it in the best way possible."

Our CEO, Lars Rasmussen and CFO, Lene Skole recently visited our english subsidiary in Peterborough.

Lars and Lene spent the day in the city updating staff on company progress.

General Manager in the UK, Sue Kernahan was excited. 

“Company updates are usually given in Denmark and broadcasted across our company intranet," says Sue. "This time, however, Lars and Lene paid a personal visit to speak to the UK staff face-to-face.”

Meeting employees

But why give the company update from the UK rather than Denmark?

“We're a global company with subsidiaries in more than 40 countries worldwide," says Lars and Lene. “Visiting the subsidiaries is a great opportunity for us to meet the employees, listen to their thoughts and ideas and to answer their questions.” 

Lene adds.

“Coloplast UK is an important and well-performing part of our global organisation. 

“We're confident that our UK subsidiary will continue to be successful and help us achieve our new long-term ambition: to outgrow the market and achieve EBIT  margins (earnings before interest and tax) that are in line with the best performing medical device companies in the world.”

Coloplast UK has recently attracted a lot of positive attention to themselves. They've won:

• Peterborough Evening Telegraph Business Award for personal development
• Interest in People Award
• Top 100 Company to work for in 2010

Generating a growth of 11% and an EBIT margin of 24% compared to 20% in the same period last year, Coloplast delivers satisfactory financial results for Q1 2010/2011.

Read the report: English Danish

“I’m pleased with the results. We are still improving our earnings and growing more than the market,” says CEO, Lars Rasmussen.

“I’m especially happy with the development in our Chronic Care business, Ostomy and Continence Care, where we continue to conquer market shares”.

Gross profit was up by 19% to DKK 1,612m for a gross margin of 63% up from 59% in Q1 last year. The organic growth in Q1 was 6%.

In Ostomy Care, the business area reached an organic growth of 6%, and in Urology & Continence Care, the organic growth was 9%.

“In Continence Care we have launched a new, compact catheter in January 2011 – the SpeediCath® Compact Male. We are very happy with the uptake in the market. The catheter is very discreet and was very positively received. We know from thousands of our end users that discretion is crucial when having to cope with their chronic condition”, says Lars Rasmussen.

In the business area Wound & Skin Care organic growth was negative by 2%.

“In Wound & Skin Care, the Q1 growth was affected negatively by an increased pressure on public spending in Greece. We still expect to see growth in this financial year.”

Financial expectations for 2010/2011

Coloplast still expects a continued organic revenue growth of 6-8% in the financial year 2010/2011. Due to strengthened currencies we now expect a growth of 8-10% in DKK. The EBIT margin guidance remains in the range of 23-25%, both at constant exchange rates and in DKK.