COPENHAGEN: Danish hearing aid and headset maker GN Store Nord reported fourth-quarter profits in line with forecasts on Wednesday and said it expected a further rise in 2015, despite price pressures in the United States, one of its biggest markets.
GN Store Nord said earnings before interest, taxation and amortisation (EBITA) rose 22.3 percent to 477 million crowns ($73 million). Analysts had on average expected a result of 478 million according to a Reuters poll.
The hearing aid industry was shaken last year when Switzerland-based Sonova started to sell high-end hearing aids at rock bottom prices through US bulk purchase retailer Costco Wholesale Corp, stepping up a price war in the fiercely competitive $15 billion market.
GN Store Nord said it was able to maintain its market position as the biggest supplier to Costco, even with the new competition from Sonova, but revenue was hit.
Compatriot William Demant, the world's second-largest hearing aid maker, was ousted as a supplier to Costo last year and the company has now opened talks to buy French retailer Audika in a deal seen as a defensive move by analysts.
The total hearing aid market recorded unit growth of just over 6 percent in 2014 while the average selling price is estimated to have fallen by around 2 percent, primarily driven by an increasing market share for larger retailers.
GN Store Nord forecast EBITA in 2015 of more than 1.48 billion crowns, up from 1.26 billion in 2014.
The firm also raised its dividend for last year to 0.9 crowns per share from the 0.84 crowns paid for 2013.
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