Joining virus fight delivers big boost
PIVOTING from sleep disorder machines to ventilator production for COVID-19 victims has boosted quarterly revenue at Asx-listed health firm Resmed.
The Us-based respiratory health firm increased revenue 16 per cent to $US769.5 million ($A1.19 billion) for the three months to March 31 as it ramped up production of life-support ventilators, noninvasive ventilators and ventilation mask systems to treat coronavirus.
The virus, which has infected more than 3 million people across 185 countries and claimed more than 200,000 lives, can lead to respiratory failure and viral inflammation of lung tissue, which can be fatal.
Ventilators help push oxygen into patients whose lungs are failing. Resmed’s focus is usually on making devices for people suffering from sleep apnoea, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma, and for people in out-of-hospital care settings.
“Our primary goals are the safety and wellbeing of our team members, and the preservation of life – helping people breathe while their immune system fights this coronavirus,” Resmed chief executive Mick Farrell said in a note yesterday.
“We have rapidly pivoted our business to respond by ramping up production of life-support ventilators, noninvasive ventilators and ventilation mask systems for the people who need them most.”
Resmed said net income for the three months to March 31 rose 55 per cent to $US163.1 million and has grown 32 per cent to $US443.8 million in the financial year to date.
Quarterly revenue in the US, Canada and Latin America, excluding software-as-aservice, grew by 12 per cent, driven by sales across mask and device product portfolios.
Combined revenue outside North America grew by 27 per cent on a constant currency basis.
Resmed’s Asx-listed shares gained 6.37 per cent to $24.98 in early trade yesterday, dipping to $24.16 at the close, and have risen more than 6 per cent in 2020 against a near 20 per cent drop for the ASX 200.
Our primary goals are the safety and wellbeing of our team members, and the preservation of life
MICK FARRELL, RESMED CEO