Foolish takeaway

The winner (despite having run its balance sheet too lean, and needing to raise capital a short time back – hopefully a lesson it learns and something it doesn’t repeat) is an Australian business with a dominant brand, high levels of practitioner support and recommendation, industry-leading technology and a long history of successful innovation. It has a large and growing market, particularly as the developed world becomes more affluent, and its clients are almost all, by definition, customers for life. The long-term future is bright, and the Best in Breed healthcare company is last year’s carry-over champion, hearing implant maker Cochlear.