Cochlear record revenue fails to impress investors

Sometimes you just can’t win. After posting a record revenue of $391.7 million – all the more impressive at a time of the high Aussie dollar – the stock market has turned its back on Cochlear, driving its share price down by over 9% in today’s trading.

The record revenue comes a year after Cochlear posted a $20.4 million loss, hampered by its costly $138.8m product recall of the CI500 implant.

Yet strong sales over the past financial year have almost gone a long way to recouping the cost of the recall, with net profit after tax of $77.7 million.

The company also announced a dividend of $1.25 per share (40% franked), up 4%.

“This is a pleasing result,” said Cochlear CEO, Dr Chris Roberts. “Yet again, a record number of recipients received one of our implants.”

However, investors were less impressed by the results - perhaps responding to some analyst expectations of even greater sales - and sold off Cochlear stock in relatively heavy trading throughout the day, ultimately shedding $7.50 to $72.96 at market close.