By Cian Muenster and Bartosz Dabrowski
(Reuters) -Swiss dental implant maker Straumann reported an 8.3% rise in third-quarter organic sales on Wednesday, slightly above market expectations, as growth in most Asia-Pacific markets and North America outweighed muted demand in China.
Revenue climbed to 602.2 million Swiss francs ($759.3 million) in the July-September period, compared with analysts’ estimate of 600.6 million Francs in a Vara consensus.
Shares of the company rose 5.8% to 92.86 francs post results.
The company’s Asia Pacific sales came in at 144.3 million francs, below consensus estimates of 151.5 million francs. The region accounts for about a quarter of Straumann’s total sales.
The company said its revenue in China has begun to soften as patients delay treatment and distributors reduce inventories ahead of the next round of the country’s volume-based procurement (VBP).
“We still have to see, and we will have more information by the end of the year when the Chinese authorities will publish how they would like to run this new VBP round for dental implants,” CEO Guillaume Daniellot told Reuters in an interview.
Straumann said it is bracing for challenges in China over the next two quarters but remains optimistic about other regions.
“We believe that we can, of course, compensate for some of the shortfall that we would see in China based on really good results and growth in the rest of the geographies,” Daniellot added.
Sales in North America stood at 161.6 million francs, nearly in line with estimates of 159.6 million, as premium and challenger brands gained traction, supported by commercial execution.
The company also announced new collaborations in its orthodontics business, transferring clear aligner manufacturing for EMEA and APAC to Smartee, its partner in China.
Straumann confirmed its full-year outlook and said it continues to expect high single-digit organic revenue growth in 2025.
($1 = 0.7931 Swiss francs)
(Reporting by Cian Muenster and Bartosz Dabrowski; Editing by Sumana Nandy)
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