Coloplast updates on growth strategy

Coloplast (OMX: COLO B) held Capital Markets day in London yesterday. The medical devices firm eyes accelerating global growth, which is a clear shift from optimizing operations in the past few years. The company hints of numerous future launches in ostomy, continence and wound care, describing its current pipeline as strongest to date. In Urology Care the company has a five year plan to become the global leader.

Currently two thirds of revenues come from Europe, where the market share is close to 50% and the company foresees continued growth. Coloplast sees high potential in the developed world ex-Europe, with the current market share hovering around 20-30% overall in the US, Canada, Japan and Australia. In the United States the company is refocusing on its core competences. The market share situation is similar in the developing world, where obviously Coloplast has high ambitions as well, with China being the biggest growth opportunity.

Coloplast still predicts an annual price decline of one per cent and says the ability to improve EBIT performance going forward is mitigated by lower margins ex-Europe, something that the company plans to alleviate with higher volumes from Europe. The long term target is to outpace industry growth by low to middle single digits. The EBIT margin of 28.6% during last quarter is among the industry leaders. Net Debt to EBITDA capital target has been scrapped, and the company plans to maintain flexibility with a 1 billion DKK liquidity reserve, allowing for acquisitions when opportunities arise. Excess liquidity will be returned to shareholders, with dividend policy unchanged at 30% pay-out ratio coupled with share buy-backs and possible extra dividends.

Coloplast reports strong earnings, raises EBIT margin guidance

Medical devices manufacturer Coloplast (OMX: COLO B) revenues grew by 7% to 5.35 billion DKK in the first half of 2011/2012 fiscal year. Gross margin of 66% and EBIT margin of 27% meant that the bottom line looks nice as well. Q2 revenues were about 2.7 billion with profit for the period at 514 million.

Business areas Ostomy, Continence and Urology Care reported high single digit revenue growth where as Wound & Skin Care sales fell by one percent. The firm still expects organic revenue growth of 6% and raises EBIT margin guidance from 27% to 28%. In the beginning of April the share briefly touched 100o DKK. Today it reclaimed that level and closed at an all time up by nearly 6%.

Novo Nordisk tops clean capitalism list

Nordic companies are clearly overrepresented in Corporate Knights 8th annual ranking of the most sustainable companies in the world. Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk (OMX: NOVO B) was chosen as the most sustainable company by a wide margin. Last year Novo was down in 16th place. It scored particularly well in this study in energy productivity and in CEO vs. average employee compensation.

The idea of the list is to find companies who not only act in the interests of the business but also for the entire planet in doing so. That means that companies fully take social, economic and ecological costs and benefits into account. A situation where a company’s private optimum level of production differs from the social optimum due to externalities is one type of market failure, which is not normally addressed on the corporate level.

Other Nordic companies close to the top are oil producer Statoil ASA (OSE:STL) at number 3 and Danish biotech company Novozymes A/S (OMX: NZYM B) at number four. Aluminium producer Norsk Hydro ASA (OSE: NHY) and Swedish industrial group Atlas Copco (OMX: ATCO A, ATCO B)) round up the top ten.

Below the top ten one can also find Swedish telecom company TeliaSonera (OMX: TLSN, OMXH: TLS1V) at 13, oft-maligned oil refining and marketing company Neste Oil Oyj (OMX: NES1V) from Finland at 19, Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas Wind Systems A/S (OMX: VWS) at number 31, Swedish heavy trucks and buses manufacturer Scania AB (OMX: SCV B) at 36, Reverse vending machines firm Tomra Systems ASA (OSE: TOM) at number 39, Finnish retailing conglomerate Kesko Oyj (OMX: KESB) at 43, Norwegian financial services company StoreBrand ASA (OSE: STB) at 54, Swedish retail-clothing giant H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB (STO:HM B) at 67 and Danish medical devices firm Coloplast A/S (OMX: COLO B) on 84th place.