Majority of Top 20 Medtech Companies Post Double-Digit Sales Growth in 2005
Continuing a well-established pattern of financial performance that is relatively free from the cyclical nature of many high-technology sectors, the world’s leading public medical device manufacturers generally experienced a good year in 2005, with 12 of the top 20 companies posting double-digit revenue gains over 2004 (see table). All are listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
The company showing the greatest year-over-year improvement is St. Jude Medical Inc. (St. Paul, MN), whose revenues soared from $2.29 billion to $2.92 billion—a gain of more than 27%. A good portion of St. Jude’s growth is believed to be market share captured from Guidant Corp. (Indianapolis), which saw sales decline by 5.7% in the face of product failures and extensive recalls in its cardiac rhythm management line. The only other company to report declining revenues was Kodak Health Group, a unit of Eastman Kodak Co. (Rochester, NY), which reported a 1.2% slippage in the hotly contested medical imaging capital equipment market.
The orthopedics sector turned in impressive numbers, with Stryker Corp. (Kalamazoo, MI), Smith & Nephew plc (London), and Zimmer Holdings Inc. (Warsaw, IN) posting sales gains of 14.3%, 12.7%, and 10.4% respectively. Johnson & Johnson Inc. (J&J; New Brunswick, NJ), GE Healthcare (Chalfont St. Giles, UK), and Medtronic Inc. (Minneapolis) held on to the top three spots again this year.
The top 20 firms generated $136.4 billion in revenues during 2005, ranging from $2 billion in sales at Alcon Inc. (Hunenberg, Switzerland) to J&J’s $19.1 billion. Only four of the market leaders are based outside the United States: Siemens Medical Systems, a division of Siemens AG (Munich); Philips Medical Systems, a unit of Royal Philips Electronics (Amsterdam, The Netherlands); Smith & Nephew; and Alcon.
Company |
2005 Revenues |
2004 Revenues ($ billions) |
Variance (%) |
Stock Symbol (all NYSE) |
Johnson & Johnson |
19.096 |
16.887 |
6.7 |
JNJ |
GE Healthcare |
15.153 |
13.456 |
12.6 |
GE |
Medtronic 1 |
11.003 |
9.942 |
10.7 |
MDT |
Baxter International Inc. |
9.849 |
9.509 |
3.6 |
BAX |
Tyco Healthcare |
9.511 |
9.250 |
2.8 |
TYC |
Siemens Medical Solutions 2 |
9.481 |
8.441 |
12.3 |
SI |
Cardinal Health 4 |
8.476 |
7.358 |
15.2 |
CAH |
Philips Medical Systems 2 |
7.561 |
7.014 |
7.8 |
PHG |
Boston Scientific Corp. |
6.283 |
5.624 |
11.7 |
BSX |
Abbott 4 |
5.897 |
5.174 |
14.0 |
ABT |
Becton Dickinson & Co. |
5.540 |
5.037 |
10.0 |
BDX |
Stryker Corp. |
4.872 |
4.262 |
14.3 |
SYK |
3M Healthcare |
4.373 |
4.230 |
3.4 |
MMM |
Guidant Corp. |
3.550 |
3.765 |
–5.7 |
GDT |
Zimmer Holdings |
3.286 |
2.981 |
10.4 |
ZMH |
St. Jude Medical |
2.915 |
2.294 |
27.1 |
STJ |
Kodak Health Group |
2.655 |
2.686 |
–1.2 |
EK |
Smith & Nephew 3 |
2.446 |
2.171 |
12.7 |
SNN |
Beckman Coulter Inc. |
2.444 |
2.408 |
1.5 |
BEC |
Alcon Inc. |
2.017 |
1.814 |
11.2 |
ACL |
1 Revenues for the 12-month period ending January 31, 2006. |
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Revenues of world’s top 20 public medtech firms for the 12-month period ending December 31, 2005, regardless of fiscal year. Only divisions reporting medical product revenues are included; pharmaceutical, consumer-product, and healthcare services divisions are excluded. All financial data obtained from company financial reports. |
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© 2006 Canon Communications LLC
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