Cochlear shares have soared after the hearing implant maker lifted its final dividend and forecast bigger profits in the year ahead.
Net profit for the 12 months to June 30 rose 18 per cent to $223.6 million due to strong growth in sales revenue and earnings after launching new products.
Cochlear said it expects investments in new products and market growth to deliver a profit of between $240 million and $250 million in the current financial year.
"In particular, we expect the launch of the Nucleus 7 Sound Processor, which commences its full market release from September, to contribute to both implant growth and upgrade demand over the coming years," the company said.
It has also focused on acquisitions in a bid to drive long-term growth in sales revenue.
In May, Cochlear agreed to buy San Francisco-based Sycle, which owns a cloud-based management software that integrates services for hearing professionals, for $US78 million.
The company invested $152 million in research and development in 2016/17, or 12 per cent of sales revenue, with a pipeline of new products expected to be launched over the coming years.
Chief financial officer Brent Cubis said the investments were starting to pay off, supporting a 17 per cent increase in Cochlear's final dividend.
Cochlear shares gained $10.24, or 7.2 per cent, to $153.02.
Its core implant business, which contributes 62 per cent of sales revenue, achieved five per cent revenue growth in 2016/17, as the number of implants sold rose eight per cent to 32.6 million.
COCHLEAR'S PROFIT BOOSTED BY STRONG SALES:
* Full year net profit up 18pct to $223.6m
* Sales revenue up 7pct to $1.2b
* Final dividend up 20 cents to $1.40, fully franked
Share
