Cochlear takes another hit, shares rise

Only a day after its shares plunged 18 per cent on bad news, hearing implant manufacturer Cochlear has been hit again by more adverse news.

But instead of falling further, by late this morning the company’s shares had risen 0.85 per cent or $1.49 to reach $176.

On Monday @AuManufacturing reported that Cochlear had abandoned its profit guidance for the year because of mass postponements of implant surgeries in the United States and Western Europe.

This morning the Sydney company revealed the US Court of Appeal had affirmed a district court award of US$268 million against the company in a long running patent dispute.

Still pending is the appeals court decision regarding potential interest payments of US$123 million and legal fees of US$15 million.

However the market shrugged off this latest bad news amid a general rise in the Australian sharemarket today.

Cochlear CEO Dig Howitt has previously made cash provisions for an unsuccessful outcome in this case and maintains the company can meet future cash requirements.

Howitt said: “We believe the amount of damages awarded is out of proportion with the limited application of the patent feature.

“But inflated damages awards are a risk of patent disputes in the US.”

The lawsuit against Cochlear was taken out by the Alfred E. Mann Foundation and Advanced Bionics LLC.

Picture: Cochlear

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