Surgical revenues plunge as elective surgery put on hold
KEYHOLE SURGERY instruments maker Surgical Innovations saw its revenues plunge as it posted a loss for the year ended December 31, 2020, with the coronavirus pandemic affecting its markets.
The Leeds-based firm was hit by delays in elective surgeries as countries prioritised getting to grips with the pandemic.
Surgical Innovations reported a 41 per cent reduction in revenues to £6.33m from £10.73m in 2019. The firm passed its low point in May 2020.
However, revenue in the second half of the year was up 44 per cent over the first half at £3.74m
Surgical Innovations also slid to an adjusted operating pre-tax loss of £1.61m.
David Marsh, CEO of Surgical Innovations, told The Yorkshire Post: “The results are as we expected. Considering the year that we had last year with Covid, we performed admirably and came out in a really strong financial position. The company is set up for a very positive 2021.”
The Leeds-based business, which has around 80 staff, said group revenue in the first two months was 11 per cent ahead of the comparable period in the prior year.
Mr Marsh said the business is “really optimistic” about the year ahead with Surgical Innovations saying it is well positioned to benefit from increased backlog in elective surgery cases across all markets.
He added: “We feel the company is in a really good position now. We’re financially strong. We used last year to completely streamline the efficiency of the business. We haven’t sat still during the hiatus of Covid. We’ve improved all the areas of the business.”
The pandemic posed a series of challenges with safeguarding of staff at the top of its priorities, the firm said. Surgical Innovations also placed a lot of people on furlough for a period of time.
Nigel Rogers, chairman of Surgical Innovations, said: ”Encouragingly, whilst demand in the UK has been suppressed, we are beginning to see early-stage signs that the UK market is recovering and expect this to sharply improve in the second quarter, with momentum building through the year as the backlog of elective surgery cases is tackled.
“We also expect to outperform the UK market due to new business wins during the downturn. Since the beginning of 2021, we have completed several key partnership agreements to expand our reach in the US market and secure a broader range of products for UK distribution.”