Tokyo (SCCIJ) – The Straumann Group, a world-leading brand in esthetic dentistry from Switzerland, expects to grow this year even faster than before the pandemic. The Basel-based company, a producer of dental implants and transparent aligners, registered a record quarterly revenue in the first quarter with the Asia-Pacific region growing the most. “We are really going strong”, CEO Guillaume Daniellot said in a Swiss interview.
Basel-based Straumann Group had a revenue of 1.6 billion francs in 2019.
Growth acceleration
According to its press release, Straumann made “an exceptional start to 2021”. The solid growth trend experienced in the second half of 2020 accelerated. Most dental practices around the world are open, and the combination of high consumer confidence together with fewer spending options created a tailwind for specialty dental treatments.
This is in contrast to the first quarter of 2020 when sales were constrained in Asia-Pacific from the beginning of the year and dropped sharply from mid-March onwards in other regions due to pandemic-related lockdowns. Despite a negative currency effect, which was mainly related to the depreciation of the US dollar and Brazilian real, the first-quarter revenue reached 470 million francs, compared to 372 million francs during the first quarter of 2019 before the pandemic.
Strong Asia-Pacific
The Asia-Pacific region returned to strong growth following the heavy impact of the pandemic. In the first quarter of 2021, it posted organic growth of 74 percent to reach 92 million francs in revenue compared to 54 million francs in the same period of 2020. All key markets, including Japan, Australia, and China continued their strong bounce-back and showed very dynamic growth.
From the digital solutions portfolio, the intraoral scanners showed fast growth, driven by the 3Shape scanner mainly in Japan and Carestream in China. The orthodontics business is gaining momentum in Australia and Japan, with the bone level implant BLT been launched in Japan. The Group signed also an agreement to establish its first campus in China with an investment of up to 170 million francs.
Demand for oral health
After initially presenting a conservative forecast in February, Straumann raised the outlook and now expects to improve the operating margin above the result of 2019 to the mid-to-high twenties percentage range. “We saw an acceleration of growth that led to record revenue supported by recent launches,” commented CEO Daniellot.
The group observes consumer demand focusing on specialty dental treatments. This market is experiencing a temporary tailwind from the pandemic because consumers are prioritizing spending on oral health. With mass vaccination underway, Straumann expects this tailwind to become softer in the second half of the year, though.
The Straumann Group is a global leader in tooth replacement and orthodontic solutions. In collaboration with leading clinics, institutes, and universities, it researches, develops, manufactures, and supplies dental implants, instruments, CADCAM prosthetics, biomaterials, and digital solutions for use in tooth replacement and restoration or to prevent tooth loss. Straumann currently employs more than 7700 people worldwide and its products, solutions, and services are available in more than 100 countries.
Text: Straumann (edited by Martin Fritz for SCCIJ)
