Europe's biggest artificial hip and knee maker, Smith & Nephew PLC (LON:SN.) saw its 2016 trading profits miss forecasts weighed by tough market conditions in China and the Gulf States.
The FTSE 100-listed firm posted trading profits of US$1.020bn for the full-year to December 31, down 7% from 2015’s US$1.099bn, on revenues 1% higher at US$4.67bn.
Analysts were expecting the company to report trading profits of US$1.04bn and revenues of US$4.69bn.
Olivier Bohuon, Smith & Nephew’s chief executive officer, said: “Market conditions in China and the Gulf States together shaved more than a percentage point of growth off the group in 2016.”
But, he added: “ China returned to growth in the second half, as did the Emerging Markets as a whole,"
Smith & Nephew said it expected stronger revenue growth in 2017, with underlying revenues seen increasing by 3-4% and trading profit margin increasing by 20-70 points.
Bohuon added: "I am confident we now have the right structure and capability in place and are focused on improving execution across the group, with a clear set of actions underway.
“Beyond this, with our innovative products and deep customer relationships, we are well set to deliver a stronger performance generating higher revenue growth and a better trading profit margin in the future."
The firm plans to pay a final dividend of 18.5 US cents, taking its full-year dividend to 30.8 US cents, unchanged on the previous year.
In early trading, Smith & Nephew shares topped the FTSE 100 fallers list, down 4.4%, or 53p at 1,148p.
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