Straumann apos;s Shares Slump Despite First-half Sales Beat

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By Andrey Sychev and Ozan Ergenay
Aug 15 (Reuters) - dental services without insurance (my homepage) implants maker Straumann's shares fell by as much as 5% on Tuesday, despite the Swiss company beating first-half sales forecasts, on market disappointment over its performance in some regions.
The shares were on track for their worst day this year.
Straumann, which specialises in tooth replacement and orthodontic solutions, reported 7.5% organic sales growth in the six months to the end of June, citing strong patient flows and demand recovery in China.
Its revenue grew to 1.2 billion Swiss francs ($1.37 billion), in line with Refinitiv IBES consensus estimates.
However, some in the market were more focused on results in Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) and North America, its biggest markets by revenue.
"EMEA and North America a touch below expectations," JP Morgan analysts wrote in a note, adding: "FY (full year) guidance has been reiterated, although we think there were some hopes for a raise".
Straumann confirmed its forecast of high-single-digit percentage organic sales growth and core earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margin at around 25%.
"Despite isolated consumer weakness, we remain confident in reaching our full-year guidance," Straumann Chief Executive Guillaume Daniellot said.
Straumann's second-quarter sales in the EMEA and North American regions, its biggest markets by revenue, grew organically by 8.8% and 7.0% respectively, falling short of the Vara consensus of 9.8% and 9.1% growth respectively.
This was offset by the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, where China made the largest contribution with a jump in sales of almost a quarter in the April to June period.
This rise was thanks to recovered patient flows boosted by volume-based procurement (VBP) pricing and relatively weak results in the year-ago period due to COVID-19 lockdowns.
China's VBP is a tender programme for healthcare products aimed at lowering costs for consumers.
In the previous quarter, Straumann's APAC sales fell 23% due to the VBP as it had to slash costly dental implant prices.
Straumann Chairman Gilbert Achermann said he will not seek re-election in 2024 and that the board will propose Vice-Chair Petra Rumpf to replace him.

($1 = 0.8756 Swiss francs)
(Reporting by Andrey Sychev and Ozan Ergenay; Editing by Christian Schmollinger, Sonia Cheema and Alexander Smith)