Invacare reports significant drop in respiratory product sales

ELYRIA, Ohio - Invacare reported net sales decreased 5.8% to $223.4 million in the first quarter of 2019 compared to the same period last year.

It reported a net loss of $13.9 million vs. $14.1 million.

For North America, Invacare reported that, while mobility and seating product net sales increased slightly, respiratory product sales were significantly lower by 7.7 million or 34.9% in the first quarter due to the impact of reimbursement changes, as anticipated.

“In North America, we are encouraged by trends that suggest results will strengthen over the balance of 2019, in spite of expected weakness in the respiratory market, where we expect similar declines in revenue for the rest of the year,” said Matt Monaghan, chairman, president and CEO. “Mobility and seating net sales grew modestly with major customer groups, tempered by a challenging sales environment underscored by various external factors impacting the segment, including the impact of tariffs and reimbursement changes as discussed in the third quarter earnings release, which primarily impacted respiratory products.”

Invacare reaffirmed its full-year guidance for 2019 to an adjusted EBITDA of at least $20 million and free cash flow usage at or below $25 million. It also reaffirmed it expects to achieve adjusted EBITDA run-rate of $85 million to $105 million by year-end 2020, with a combination of low single-digit sales growth, gross margin improvements and substantial cost reductions.

“Certain product lines may be discontinued to focus investment on higher margin profitable areas of growth,” the company stated.