WS Audiology delivered solid performance in H1 and upgrades 2020/21 outlook

Highlights H1 2020/21

• Revenue grew to EUR 995 million (organic growth of 8%)
• Normalized EBITDA increased 25% to EUR 236 million (24% margin)
• Strongest performance in Europe and APAC due to faster market recovery
• New restrictions in January and February in some markets with strong recovery in March including the important North American market
• Strong 9% organic growth in Wholesale and solid 7% organic growth in consumer-facing channels (Retail, Online and Managed Care)
• Good profitability driven by synergy program, cost control and scalability from volume growth
• Merger integration well on track
• Expectations for strong 2020/21 upgraded

“WS Audiology’s strong performance and recovery continued and accelerated in the first half of the 2020/21 fiscal year as we leveraged our diversified sales channels and business models. While we faced some headwinds early 2021 due to COVID-19 restrictions, we saw a strong recovery in March and continued to reap the benefits of our strong innovation capabilities with the launches of Signia Xperience and Widex Moment last financial year, and we delivered record-high profitability on the back of our successful integration work,” said WS Audiology CEO Eric Bernard.

All business units improved performance in the first half of 2020/21 despite continued effects of COVID-19 in several markets. Revenue grew to EUR 995 million with a normalized EBITDA margin of 24% based on the positive business development and good cost containment.

“We continued to invest in cutting-edge innovation as we launched Signia Active Pro in the beginning of 2021 and ushered in a new era in our industry as the first to introduce a fully-fledged hearing aid that looks like an earbud. And in May, we followed up with the introduction of a new Signia platform, Signia AX (Augmented Xperience). For the first time ever, a hearing aid uses two processors, capturing focus and surrounding sounds independently to create a greater contrast between the two – pulling focus sounds such as a conversation partner closer and placing surrounding sounds slightly further away. On the back of the strong performance in the first half of the financial year, we expect to deliver strong performance for the full year driven by our exciting product launches, the roll-out of vaccines across core markets and a potential release of some pent-up demand,” said Eric Bernard.

Based on the strong development in the first half of the financial year and the positive outlook, WS Audiology now expects to generate organic growth of at least 20% and increase normalized EBITDA to at least EUR 460 million in 2020/21 (EUR 331 million in 2019/20) against previous expectations of generating double-digit organic growth and a normalized EBITDA margin of above 20%. However, it should be noted that market uncertainty remains higher than normal due to the ongoing pandemic.

Contact

Gert van Santen
Vice President, Corporate Communications
gert.vansanten@wsa.com
Tel: + 45 22 71 18 64

About WS Audiology

Formed in 2019, through the merger of Sivantos and Widex, WS Audiology combines over 140 years’ experience in pioneering the use of technology to help people with hearing loss hear the sounds that make life wonderful. With truly differentiated brands like Widex, Signia, Rexton, Audio Service and Vibe, and with diverse assets across wholesale, retail, online, managed care and diagnostic solutions, we are active in over 125 markets. WS Audiology employs 11,000 people and is privately owned by the Tøpholm and Westermann families, as well as funds under the management of EQT. As a global leader, our ambition is to unlock human potential by making wonderful sound part of everyone’s life.