Sonova raises full-year forecasts on market share gains, product launches

By Amir Orusov and Anastasiia Kozlova

Nov 12 (Reuters) - Swiss hearing aid maker Sonova on Thursday raised its sales and profit forecasts for its 2027 financial year, citing market share gains and solid uptake of new products.

Sonova shares, which have gained nearly 36% so far this year, were indicated to rise more than 3% in premarket trading.

The world's largest maker of hearing aids expects its sales to rise by 6% to 8% in local currencies, up from a previous forecast of 5% to 8%, and core operating profit to grow 10% to 13%, compared with 7% to 10% previously, in the year through March 2027.

The upgrade comes as demand across the hearing-aid industry remains robust and provides an early indication of the commercial success of Sonova's AI-powered Phonak EON platform, seen as a key driver of its medium-term growth targets.

"We see AI as an amazing opportunity and believe we are ahead of the curve," CEO Eric Bernard told Reuters, adding that increasingly software-based solutions were creating more opportunities for regular upgrades and innovation.

Bernard said EON had received a "very good reception" and was already contributing above the company's expectations, although its impact on first-half results was limited as the platform was launched only towards the end of the period.

"The speed of conversion from (previous platform) Ultra to EON is going very, very fast. People are embracing the product," he said.

Sonova also raised its forecast for global hearing-aid market growth to 3% to 5% this year, versus 2% to 4% previously, reflecting stronger industry conditions.

Sales in the Asia-Pacific region, a key longer-term growth market for Sonova due to low hearing aid penetration and favourable demographics, grew 11.4% to 186.9 million Swiss francs ($224.4 million) in the first half of the year, driven by strong demand in Australia, China and Japan.

($1 = 0.8329 Swiss francs)

(Reporting by Amir Orusov and Anastasiia Kozlova in Gdansk; Editing by Sahal Muhammed and Milla Nissi-Prussak)