(Reuters) – Italian hearing aid company Amplifon reported an annual core profit margin of 23.6% on Thursday, short of its revised guidance of 24%, which along with a drop in net profit sent its shares falling 12%.
Amplifon, which cut the initial 24.6% margin target twice over the past year, attributed the guidance miss to lower operating leverage due to market softness in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region and strong investments ahead.
It reported an 8.5% drop in its recurring net profit to 151.7 million euros ($163.7 million), hit by higher depreciation, amortization and financial expenses.
Annual net revenue rose 6.6% to 2.41 billion euros, in line with its guidance for high single-digit percentage growth.
“In a very challenging year, with a global market still behind historical growth levels, we invested in our brand … strengthening our competitive positioning and preparing to make the most of the expected recovery in Europe,” CEO Enrico Vita said in a statement.
“We are very confident about our growth prospects for 2025, in terms of both revenues and profitability,” he added.
Amplifon acquired around 400 points of sale in 2024, as tech innovation spurs competition in the hearing aid sector.
Swiss rival Sonova last year introduced a first-in-market hearing aid utilising real-time AI, while Apple received U.S. approval for software that it said could transform its headphones into a personalized hearing aid.
However, Vita has ruled out competition from Apple, saying the U.S. company aims to serve customers with only mild hearing difficulties.
For 2025, Amplifon forecast mid to high single-digit revenue growth at constant exchange rates and improved profitability with a recurring core profit margin of at least 24%.
It proposed a dividend of 29 euro cents per share, as it had for 2023.
($1 = 0.9265 euros)
(Reporting by Alberto Chiumento in Gdansk; editing by Milla Nissi)
