Nanosonics (ASX:NAN) soars on steady COVID-19 recovery

• Infection prevention specialist Nanosonics (NAN) is trading strong today after a positive business update for the first four months of the 2021 financial year
• The company has staged a strong recovery since COVID-19 brought about a major decline in product sales and Nanosonics trophon unit installations
• Today, global unit sales of consumables are 4 per cent higher compared to this time last year, while trophon installations are almost back to FY20 levels
• The company says while the future is still uncertain, it seems hospitals are managing new waves of COVID-19 better than before
• The company plans to release a more detailed business update at its November 24 Annual General Meeting (AGM)
• Shares in Nanosonics are up over 9 per cent today and worth $5.61

Nanosonics (NAN) is trading strong today after a positive business update for the first four months of the 2021 financial year.

Shares in the meditech company slipped in August when Nanosonics revealed a tough June quarter in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the time, Nanosonics said global unit sales of consumables — which had nosedived due to the pandemic — started trending back to around 80 per cent of where they sat during the first three quarters of the year over the month of June.

Today, however, the company said unit sales of consumables during the four months to the end of October were up 4 per cent on the same time period last year.

Compared to the last four months of the 2020 financial year, when the world was rife with COVID-induced lockdowns and hospitalisations, unit sales in FY21 are up 25 per cent.

Moreover, the company installed 16 per cent more trophon disinfection units in the first four months of FY21 compared to the last four months of FY20. Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) sales carried the increased installations, up 64 per cent, but North American installations still increased by 14 per cent.

Compared to last year, new trophon unit installations are at 91 per cent of their corresponding FY20 level overall; 91 per cent in North America and 119 per cent across the EMEA region.

Nanosonics CEO and President Michael Kavanaugh said the company has shown a strong recovery during the 2021 financial year, though he admitted that there is still potential for COVID-19 to disrupt operations further.

“While we continue to face uncertainties and the potential for further lockdowns and disruptions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, it is pleasing to see the rate of recovery in the first four months of FY21, demonstrating the ongoing strength in the underlying fundamentals of the business,” Michael said.

However, he added that based on the second wave of COVID-19 across North America, it seems hospitals are better equipped to manage the pandemic than they were earlier in the year.

“Accordingly, ultrasound procedure volumes requiring high level disinfection did not seem to be impacted to the same degree as in the first wave,” he said.

He said this does not guarantee that future waves in other regions will follow similar patterns.

“Despite ongoing periods of uncertainty we remain optimistic about the future and investments in our growth agenda continue across the business as we look to further expand our geographical footprint and product portfolio,” Michael said.

Nanosonics said it plans to release a more detailed business update at its November 24 Annual General Meeting (AGM).

Shares in the infection prevention company are trading 9.38 per cent higher this afternoon, currently worth $5.61 at 1:29 pm AEDT.