Cochlear’s investors like what they hear

COCHLEAR shares have soared after the hearing implant maker lifted its final dividend and forecast a bigger profit in the year ahead.

Net profit for the year to June rose 18 per cent to $223.6 million, fuelled by strong growth in sales revenue and earnings after launching new products.

Cochlear said it expected investments in new products and market growth to deliver a profit of between $240 million and $250 million in the financial year now underway.

“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.

In May, Cochlear agreed to buy Sycle, which owns a cloudbased management software system that integrates services for hearing professionals.

It paid $US78 million for the business.

Cochlear, led by chief executive Chris Smith, invested $152 million in research and development the past financial year, or 12 per cent of sales revenue. It expects to launch a pipeline of new products over 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 to $1.40 a share, fully franked, up from $1.20 a year ago.

The group’s core implant business achieved 5 per cent revenue growth. The number of implants sold rose 8 per cent to 32.6 million.

Cochlear shares surged 7.2 per cent, or $10.24, yesterday to close at $153.02.