News and press

“I'm very pleased with our strong full-year financial results. We lifted both our sales growth and our EBIT margin to the upper end of our guidance range. With our healthy growth performance in all business areas and in all regions during the past financial year, we have consolidated our position as a global market leader,” says Coloplast’s CEO Lars Rasmussen.

Sales growth by business area was as follows: Ostomy Care 7%, Continence Care 7%,Urology Care 9% and Wound & Skin Care 5%. Revenue increased by 5% in Europe, by 9% in other developed markets and by 14% in other markets.

“These are excellent results. We grew our business by 7% overall in a market that is growing by 4–5%. We're beginning to see the results of the investments in growth we announced in 2012, and we expect this strong growth to continue into next year,” Lars Rasmussen adds.

For the 2013/2014 financial year, Coloplast projects revenue growth of about 7% and anEBIT margin of around 33%, both at constant exchange rates and in DKK.

Distributor agreement for the Wound Care business based on innovative technology

Together with the release of the full-year financial report, Coloplast is announcing a new distributor agreement with the US-based medtech company Devon Medical International.

The agreement gives Coloplast exclusive rights to distribute Devon's already approved product portfolio for Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) in the EU, Brazil, China and other markets.

“Our Wound Care business has grown for three straight quarters, and we've now completed the turnaround we initiated a few years back. The deal with Devon is a natural next step in achieving our ambition for sustained growth in this business area,” says Lars Rasmussen.

For further information, click here to read the Full Year Financial Report for 2012/2013.

The Coloplast Annual Report for 2012/13 will be released later today. For more information, go to http://www.coloplast.com/Investor-Relations/Annual-reports/

Also later today, Coloplast will release its Corporate Responsibility Report for 2012/13. For more information, go to http://www.coloplast.com/About-Coloplast/Responsibility/Policies/

EBIT was up by 14% to DKK 2,699 million. The EBIT margin was 31% against 29% in the first nine months last year. The net profit for the period was up by 24% to DKK 1,962 million.

“I'm very pleased with the financial results we are announcing today. We're growing in allbusiness areas and in all regions, and our performance supports our ambition to accelerate our growth,” says Coloplast CEO Lars Rasmussen.

Sales growth by business area was as follows: Ostomy Care 7%, Continence Care 6%,Urology Care 9% and Wound & Skin Care 4%.

“I'm quite pleased with our sales performance in the Ostomy Care business, especially in the European market. Our growth in the US market was very satisfactory and especially our two smaller business areas, Urology Care and Wound Care, delivered good results despite challenging market conditions. In other markets, Brazil and China both delivered a very good growth performance,” says Lars Rasmussen.

Coloplast is increasing its global production capacity

Coloplast will be investing around DKK 130 – 150 million over the next two years to expand its factory in Nyírbátor, Hungary.

“We're growing year by year and need therefore more space and more production capacity,”says Lars Rasmussen, and he continues: “We've decided to expand one of our two factories in Hungary because we consider that to be the most viable solution. The central location in Europe is important because the vast majority of our sales are in Europe.”

Currently, Coloplast has production facilities in Denmark, Hungary, China, France and the USA. New products are manufactured at the two innovation factories in Mørdrup and Thisted, Denmark in a close collaboration with the global marketing and R&D departments at the Danish headquarters in Humlebæk. The factories in Hungary and China are designed specifically for volume production.

For further information, click here to read the Q3 Interim Report.

In a new global study carried out among 412 patient groups from 39 different countries Coloplast is ranked at the very top in front of large international competitors such as Johnson & Johnson and Smith & Nephew. It is the second year in a row that Coloplast is ranked as the best medtech company by patient groups.

In total, the patient groups have ranked 30 medtech companies on six indicators. Coloplast is ranked highest on each of the indicators.

Strong customer focus

”We are both glad and proud that so many customers from all over the world believe that Coloplast is the best medtech company. I believe it is an expression of the fact that we are truly making a difference for the people around the world that need our help”, says Senior Vice President for Global Marketing in Coloplast, Nicolas Nemery. He adds:

”Our products address critical needs but if you ask our customers they would prefer to live a life where they wouldn’t need them. That’s why we make it a priority for our products to be reliable and intuitive and make sure that our customers get the guidance they need. We are committed to understand our customers and have always worked closely together with them and involved them in the development of our products. I believe that is the reason that we for the second year in a row have been ranked as the best medtech company”.

PatientView, an independent research organization, conducted the survey in March 2013.

Coloplast’s results

A total of 38 patient groups have evaluated Coloplast in the survey. These particular groups represent a broad spectrum of chronic diseases, including cancer, urinary and gastrointestinal diseases.
The participating patient groups were asked to assess medtech companies' abilities on six indicators (Coloplast’s position in brackets):

1. Whether the company has an effective patient-centered strategy (1st )
2. The quality of the information that the company provides to patients (1st )
3. The company’s record on patient safety (1st )
4. The usefulness of the company’s products to patients (1st )
5. Record of transparency with external healthcare stakeholders (1st )
6. Whether the company acts with integrity (1st )

Background

The study was conducted and funded by PatientView, an independent global research organization with close ties to patient and health groups worldwide, in March 2013. The study results express the views of more than 400 patient and health groups regarding 30 individual medtech companies and the medtech industry as a whole.

Participating patient groups were required to know enough about the pharmaceutical companies and industry to assess them meaningfully.

Coloplast generated revenues of DKK 5,707 million and 6% organic growth in the first six months of the financial year 2012/13.EBIT was up 20% to DKK 1,756 million.

The EBIT margin was 31% against 27% in H1 2011/12. The net profit for the reporting period was up by 25% to DKK 1,252 million.

“We're reporting a strong performance in our first half-year report today. We're growing across all business areas and all regions, and I'm very pleased with our performance, which is in line with our guidance,” said Coloplast CEO Lars Rasmussen.

Sales growth by business area was as follows: Ostomy Care 6%, Continence Care 6%, Urology Care 9% and Wound & Skin Care 3%.

"I am particularly pleased with our sales performance in the Wound & Skin Care business area and I'm also very satisfied with the generally positive sales developments in Emerging Markets that support our ambitions for increasing our growth.”

Extraordinary dividends

Based on the half-year report, the Board of Directors has resolved to exercise the authorisation to pay extraordinary dividends provided by the shareholders at the annual general meeting held on 11 December 2012. Accordingly, Coloplast will pay an extraordinary dividend of DKK 3 per share for a total dividend payout of DKK 634 million.

“I'm very pleased that value creation in our company has been so strong that we're able to pay extraordinary dividends of more than half a billion Danish kroner,” says Lars Rasmussen.

For further information, click here to read the half-year report.

Coloplast set new standards in designing catheters. This was the message from the jury of the prestigious design award, Red Dot, who also labelled the SpeediCath® Compact Set solution as iconic, pure and non stigmatizing.

The Red Dot Design Award is an international and prestigious product design prize that was founded in 1955.  Each year, thousands of products are registered for the Red Dot Design Award by both designers and manufacturers.

Red dot is a consumer award that focuses on the user experience and aesthetics of the product. A jury that consists of renowned design experts from all over the world evaluates the products and picks the winner. Winning products are presented in the Red Dot Design Museum in Essen.

“First of all, as a designer it is always an honuor to know that someone appreciates your design” says Marlene Corydon, Senior Project Manager at Coloplast.

“I’m so happy that we have created a solution that has real value for real people. The SpeediCath® Compact Set is discreet and a non stigmatizing accessory compared to a traditional catheter that can draw unwanted attention in public. Now, you can actually show the world what’s in your bag without having to be confronted with a very sensitive situation.”

Coloplast Design DNA

The SpeediCath® Compact Set catheter was developed along with the Coloplast  Design DNA.

“In Coloplast, our design DNA is sort of a philosophy. The purpose is to create products with a clear Coloplast identity that deliver reliable and consistent user experiences. It creates the right amount of creativity and direction to our products,” Marlene explains.

“Design DNA is not to be understood as a step-by-step manual. Rather it enables us to think design in the Coloplast way every time we develop new products. It helps us create a clear and recognisable Coloplast experience by integrating design thinking from the starting point.”

The design team behind the The SpeediCath® Compact Set will receive the prize July 2013. Every year Red Dot Design Award evaluates over 11,000 products from more than 60 countries.

Coloplast reports satisfactory Q1 results

Organic growth was 6% and in Danish kroner revenue was up by 8% to DKK 2,865m in the first quarter of the financial year 2012/13.

EBIT was up by 29% to DKK 897m and the EBIT margin improved to 31% from 26% in the same period last year. 

"I am satisfied with our financial performance in the first quarter of 2012/13. The results are in line with our guidance and we continue to grow more than the market," said Coloplast CEO Lars Rasmussen.

Organic sales growth by business area was as follows: Ostomy Care 5%, Continence Care 7% and Urology 11%. Wound & Skin Care sales were unchanged relative to Q1 2011/12. 

"I am particularly pleased with our sales performance in the UK, the Nordic region and the USA while our markets in Southern Europe continued to be impacted by the economic cri-sis."

"I’m not satisfied with our sales performance in emerging markets where growth rates were lower than expected." 

Financial guidance for 2012/13 

Coloplast continue to expect 6-7% organic revenue growth and now 5-6% in DKK. EBIT margin is still expected to be at 31-32%, both at constant exchange rates and in DKK.

The financial guidance assumes sustained stable growth in the European business. Emerging markets are now expected to grow by at least the same rates as last year while at the same time the mature markets outside Europe, especially the USA, are expected to see higher growth rates than in 2011/12.

For further information, read the Q1 Interim Report (UK) (DK)

Corporate Knights, a Toronto-based media and investment research company, announced today its Global 100 list of the world’s most sustainable corporations at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. 
This year, Coloplast came in at 67, moving up from 84 last year.

“I’m very proud to see that we are moving up the list of the World’s most sustainable companies. We work very hard to ensure a sustainable practice, while we are growing our company. So this recognition tells me that we are on the right course,” says Jeppe Kromann Haarsted, Head of Corporate Responsibility and Compliance Officer, Coloplast.

The Global 100, now in its 9th year, was recently recognized as the world’s most credible corporate sustainability ranking*.

Responsibility and growth goes hand in hand

Today, Coloplast employs around 8,000 people and has activities in 55 countries – and the company is investing to grow even more.

Still, corporate responsibility and growth ambitions go hand in hand.

“We produce more products in order to support the growing need of consumers around the world. But increasing our production doesn’t mean our environmental footprint should grow. So, we’re very mindful of the raw materials we use, our waste production, and our overall resource consumption. And we’ve made ambitious commitments to reduce our CO2 emissions, even as we grow,” says Lone Stubberup, who is Coloplast’s Director of EHS Development.

Read Coloplast’s Corporate Responsibility Report 2011/12

The Global 100 uses a two-step process. First, 4000 companies are screened according to their sustainability disclosure practices, financial health, product types and recent legal payouts. Remaining companies are then scored, relative to their same-sector peers, on a set of key performance indicators. A different suite of KPIs is used for companies in each industry, depending on recent reporting trends in each industry group.

* As recognized in Rate the Raters, Phase 5. Source: http://www.sustainability.com/library/rate-the-raters-phase-five-polling-the-experts-2012

Agreement brings Coloplast’s most innovative technologies to more than 2,500 additional hospitals and their patients. 

Minneapolis, Minnesota (7 January 2013): Coloplast U.S. today announced that the company has signed a three year agreement with Novation, the largest healthcare supply chain expertise and contracting company for the more than 65,000 acute and non-acute members of four U.S. national healthcare alliances. 

The agreement will offer Coloplast’s technologies to the more than 2,500 hospitals served by Novation, nearly doubling the company’s current U.S. reach. This will offer Coloplast’s most innovative technologies in Ostomy Care to 80 percent of the U.S. market. It includes the SenSura® product line and SenSura® Mio, an advanced colostomy appliance that uses BodyFit ™ technology to adjust to individual body types and takes security to a new level. 

"Our mission is to make life easier for people with very personal and private medical conditions. We know that our products make a real and important difference in people’s lives. Starting today, more Americans will have access to the most innovative technologies in Ostomy Care," said Claus Bjerre, President, Chronic Care, Coloplast Corp. 

"We are very pleased with our agreement with Novation, which we are confident will benefit the members they serve and the people who rely on our products every day," Bjerre said. 

"Furthermore, the agreement will accelerate our sales process and increase our visibility in the market, creating a stronger competitive platform for growing our U.S. business." 

The agreement is for three years, starting 1 January 2013 and ending on 31 December 2015. 

About Novation

Novation is the leading healthcare supply chain expertise and contracting company for the more than 65,000 members of national healthcare alliances VHA Inc. and UHC, two national health care alliances, Children’s Hospital Association, an alliance of the nation’s leading pediatrics facilities, and Provista, LLC. Novation provides alliance members with sourcing services, as well as information and data services. 

Novation serves healthcare markets such as acute hospitals and systems, academic medical centers, ambulatory care, physician clinics, home health and long-term care facilities. VHA, UHC, and Provista members used Novation contracts to purchase more than $40 billion in 2011. 

To learn more about Novation, visit www.novationco.com 

About Coloplast

A Danish based medical device company with its United States headquarters in Minneapolis, Coloplast develops medical devices and services designed to make life easier for people with very personal and private medical conditions. We start by listening to our users to better understand their needs, and then respond by bringing the best ideas to market in the form of medical devices and service solutions. 

Coloplast’s businesses include ostomy care, urology care, continence care, and wound and skin care. With the development of a strong portfolio of new products and investments in a professional sales force, Coloplast now employs around 8000 people worldwide. In 2012, Coloplast received global recognition for having the best corporate reputation among patients (PatientView), and for being the Most Ethical (Ethisphere Institute) and Most Sustainable (Store Brand Bank) company.