ResMed Q4 net grows 20% despite weak Americas sales

ResMed (ASX:RMD) grew its fourth quarter net profit by 20% year on year to US$87.7 million ($94.1 million), despite flat revenue due to softer sales in the Americas.

The sleep breathing therapy device company reported revenue for the quarter of US$415.2 million - flat year on year and down 1% in constant currencies.

While revenue outside of the Americas grew 9% to US$200.3 million, its revenue from the region fell 7% to US$214.9 million.

“Our fourth-quarter results were lower than anticipated, the result of softer sales in the Americas, partially offset by good growth in our international markets,” ResMed CEO Mick Farrell said.

“[But] we are executing against our Three Horizons strategy and expect to return to constant currency top-line growth as we ramp up our new product offerings over fiscal year 2015.”

Excluding the impact of restructuring expenses this quarter, as well as a one-off $25 million payment a year earlier related to its partnership with the University of Sydney, net income would have grown 1% to US$92 million.

For the full year, revenue grew 3% to US$1.55 billion, and net income increased 12% to US$345.3 million.

ResMed separately announced the results of a new study showing that long-term, non-invasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) was able to significantly improve survival, exercise capacity and quality of life when added to treatment regimens for advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Results of the study, which was co-founded by ResMed, have been published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.

During the trial, patients were recruited from 36 respiratory units in Germany and Austria. These patients were then randomised 1:1 into a treatment group and control. Both groups were given optimised COPD therapy, and the intervention group also received NPPV for at least six hours a day.

Quality-of-life questionnaires showed that the treatment group perceived themselves as healthier and less symptomatics than the controls, and the treatment group also demonstrated improvements during follow-up on a six-minute walk test.

“Going forward, I would suggest that long-term NPPV will be considered in COPD patients with chronic moderate to severe hypercapnia,” commented Dr Thomas Kohnlein, the study's principal author and a member of the Department of Respiratory Medicine at Hannover Medical School.

COPD is the third-leading cause of death in the US and is expected to become the third-leading cause of death worldwide by 2030.

ResMed (ASX:RMD) shares were trading 0.57% higher at $5.31 as of around 1.30 pm on Tuesday.