(Reuters) – Sonova, the world’s largest maker of hearing aids, on Monday posted half-year core profit a touch below expectations and said it saw annual sales and earnings at the lower end of its outlook due to a slowdown in the global market.
“Over the course of the first half, we have seen a slowing momentum of the global hearing care market as a result of macroeconomic headwinds, which are expected to persist for the remainder of the financial year,” Chief Executive Arnd Kaldowski said.
The hearing aids market, which had been recovering from COVID-related lockdowns that kept patients from seeing doctors or audiologists, is now facing soaring input costs and subdued demand from inflation-hit consumers.
Sonova reported adjusted core earnings (EBITA) of 398.1 million Swiss francs ($420.34 million) for the first half of the fiscal year that started on April 1, a 3% rise on a constant currency basis but slightly below analysts’ estimate of 399.5 million francs in a poll by Vara Research.
It flagged subdued sales volumes in the higher-priced hearing aids markets and distribution channels, especially the private market in the United States.
The Swiss group now expects to post annual results at the lower end of its forecasts for a 15-19% sales growth and a 6-10% rise in adjusted EBITA, after cutting them in August on slowing market development and input cost challenges.
Danish rivals GN Store Nord and Demant both cut their outlooks earlier this month for the second time since August, citing worsening market conditions.
($1 = 0.9471 Swiss francs)
(Reporting by Agata Rybska and Louise Breusch Rasmussen in Gdansk; Editing by Milla Nissi)
