Artificial joints bolster Smith & Nephew

5th Nov 2010 07:12

A good performance from its orthopaedics business helped wound care and artificial joint maker Smith & Nephew over the past three months.Revenues in the quarter to September rose by 4% to $941m, compared to $915m in the same period last year. Pre-tax profits rose to $201m from $173m while trading profit in the quarter was $215m, representing underlying growth of 4%. Group trading margin increased by 10 basis points to 22.9%, with significant margin improvement in Advanced Wound Management balanced by additional investments in Orthopaedics and Endoscopy.For the year to daye sales are up from $2.71bn to $2.9bn and profits to $637m from $495m."We are very pleased with the Group's robust performance with constant currency revenues up 4%, in markets which continue to be impacted by the challenging economic environment,' said chief executive David Illingworth.'In particular, our Orthopaedics business delivered a good performance, sports medicine repair revenues grew by double digits and our Negative Pressure Wound Therapy franchise continued to strengthen.'