Smith & Nephew share price rises as group posts revenue growth

Shares in Smith & Nephew (LON:SN) have climbed higher in London in today’s session as the artificial hips and knees maker posted a rise in full-year revenue. The company, however, revealed that restructuring costs had pressured its profit margin last year.

As of 09:44 GMT, Smith & Nephew’s share price had added 2.16 percent to 1,493.00p, outperforming the benchmark FTSE 100 index which has climbed marginally into positive territory and is currently 0.15 percent better off at 7,183.95 points. The group’s shares have added a little more than a fifth to their value over the past year, as compared with about a 1.4-percent fall in the Footsie.

S&N posts full-year results

Smith & Nephew announced in a statement this morning that its full-year revenue had climbed three percent to $4.9 billion. The group’s trading profit, however, fell from $934 million to $863 million during the reported period, while the company’s operating profit margin came in at 17.6 percent, compared with 19.6 percent a year ago, reflecting restructuring costs of $120 million.

“We accelerated performance across 2018,” Smith & Nephew’s chief executive Namal Nawana commented in the statement, adding that the company was starting the new year “with a strengthened organisation and a new growth-oriented operating model”.

The FTSE 100 company expects its underlying revenue to rise between 2.5 percent and 3.5 percent in 2019, while trading profit margin is forecast in the 22.8-23.2-percent range.

Analysts on blue-chip group

UBS, which is ‘neutral’ on Smith & Nephew, boosted its price target on the shares from 1,340p to 1,390p last month, while JPMorgan Chase & Co reaffirmed the company as a ‘neutral,’ valuing the stock at 1,477p. According to MarketBeat, the blue-chip group currently has a consensus ‘buy’ rating and an average price target of 1,463.22p.

As of 10:11 GMT, Thursday, 07 February, Smith & Nephew plc share price is 1,493.00p.