Anders Hedegaard
GN Store Nord A/S, the Danish parent company of ReSound, Beltone, Interton, Otometrics, and GN Netcom (maker of Jabra headsets), reports 8% organic revenue growth and a 14% increase in EBITA (excluding foreign exchange impact) in the third quarter of 2014, which it says was driven by execution of their longterm innovation and growth strategy for 2014- 2016.
According to the company, ReSound LiNX™ and Beltone First™ continue to strengthen their market positions in key channels in the United States and in the main European markets, and its Smart hearing portfolio was expanded into new market segments, form factors, and price points. GN ReSound’s organic growth for 2014 is now expected to be slightly “more than 7%,” and EBITA for 2014 is expected to be slightly “more than DKK 880 million” (US$147 million). GN Netcom’s full-year expectations are now “11% organic growth” and EBITA of slightly “more than DKK 515 million” ($86 million).
GN Netcom delivered 7% organic growth, according to the company. UC-headsets grew 11% organically on top of a challenging comparison base in Q3 2013, where UC-headsets grew 49% organically.
On November 5, GN announced a new DKK 500 million ($83 million) share buyback program, which it says reflects “the continued solid business performance and GN’s capital structure policy.” At the same time, the company also announced that it was no longer pursuing a “significant M&A opportunity,” which is thought to have been related to the sale of Siemens’ Audiology Solutions unit. Siemens AG subsequently announced that it was selling to the Stockholm-based private-equity firm EQT Partners AB and Germany’s Strüngmann family for €2.15 billion ($2.67 billion), the largest M&A in hearing industry history.
“My first 100 days in GN ReSound have been both hectic and exciting,” says Anders Hedegaard, CEO of GN ReSound. “I am encouraged about the continued strong performance of ReSound LiNX and our product pipeline for the coming years. The foundation of the company is sound, the underlying business is going very well and I have firmly been re-assured that the current strategic direction is the right one for this company.”
Source: GN Nord Store A/S
