Implanet’s First-Quarter Revenue Falls 22 Percent

It was a rocky first quarter for Implanet.

The French orthopedic implant firm suffered a 22 percent dropoff in total revenue during the first three months of 2015 but offset that loss with a 77.6 percent spike in spinal sales and a 69 percent increase in Jazz implant proceeds.

“The fall in first quarter revenue was due to a downturn in our knee activity within a highly-competitive context, and our withdrawal from the hip market in mid-2014,” said Ludovic Lastennet, Implanet CEO. “As described over the last 18 months, our development plan is focused on the strong growth of our Jazz spinal surgery implant. Jazz has again achieved excellent quarterly growth, notably in the key United States market. We continue our efforts and are confident of rapid Jazz acceleration in all markets, driven by recently published clinical and and medico-economic results, and the expected clearance of product range additions in the coming weeks in Europe and the United States. The funds raised through our recent capital increase will enable continued acceleration of our development strategy, with particular focus in the United States.”

U.S. sales accounted for 12 percent of total revenue in the first quarter and international proceeds comprised 51 percent. Growth in Jazz implant sales was uniform across all markets, with France, the United States and the rest of the world accounting for 34 percent, 26 percent and 40 percent of spinal revenue, respectively.

In the period ended March 31, Implanet sold 579 Jazz units in France, 162 in the United States and 1,070 elsewhere in the world, for a grand total of 1,811 units. The sum represents a 69 percent increase compared with the total number sold in the first quarter of 2014 and a 43 percent jump compared with the total number sold throughout all of last year, company data suggest.

Knee revenue fell 32.2 percent due to a slowdown in activity in January from a doctor’s strike in France as well as a slowdown in certain export markets. Implanet executives expect the withdrawal from the hip market to impact the company in the second quarter as well, but not much more beyond that.

Based near Bordeaux, France, Implanet manufactures orthopedic surgical implants. The company was founded in 2007 and established a U.S. subsidiary in Boston, Mass., in 2013.