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HEALTHY export revenues have helped Cook Medical Australia record 54 per cent earnings growth for the first quarter of 2010, with rapid expansion in China, Japan and Korea.
Asia Pacific managing director Barry Thomas (pictured) says the Brisbane-based manufacturer’s aortic grafts, which are an alternative to open heart surgery, recorded 81 per cent revenue growth year-on-year.
“In 2009, Cook Medical reported $183 million in sales revenue for Asia Pacific plus $40 million in exports from Australia to the rest of the world,” he says.
“The region is extremely important for the company moving forward and this year sales growth should reach 20 per cent, to approximately $240 million.
“Aside from reducing the cost burden, the benefits to the hospital system are endless and following the recent health reform announcements, I believe we’ll continue to see an increase in the uptake of non-invasive, cost effective methods by physicians.”
The company also manufactures in vitro fertilisation technology and specialised needles, with total exports to China up by 49 per cent, followed by Japan at 47 per cent and Korea at 27 per cent.
The global company has its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Brisbane, with 300 staff at its $25 million manufacturing facility at Eight Mile Plains.
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