Zimmer Medical Device Company Intelligence Report

Summary

Zimmer is the market leader for reconstructive orthopaedic products, the fourth-largest dental products company, the fifth for trauma and sixth for spine.

Zimmer largely gained its strong position through its October 2003 acquisition of Centerpulse AG. Centerpulse provided Zimmer with the leading position in the European reconstructive market and entry to the spine market, orthopaedics' fastest-growing segment. Zimmer now has operations in over 24 countries and over 6,700 employees worldwide, including around 4,100 in the US and over 2,600 elsewhere, primarily in Europe and Japan. The company has 2,300 employees dedicated to manufacturing and 550 to R&D.

Following the acquisition of Centerpulse, Zimmer has experienced strong sales growth, with revenue up by 39% in 2003 and by 57% in 2004. This stabilised in fiscal 2005, ended 31st December 2005, with growth of 10.2% for the year, to US$3.3 billion, reflecting strong growth in all geographies and for spine, dental, knee and extremity products, despite a more challenging market environment. The company also realised record profit margins of 78% gross, 32% operating and 22% net, despite moderating price and exchange rate impacts. This was helped by a 5.2% decline in the cost of sales, to US$739.4 million, and both SG&A and R&D expenses rising at a lower rate than the sales growth, at 5.9 and 5.2%, respectively. In addition, Zimmer paid off all debt related to its Centerpulse and Implex acquisitions, leaving it in a net cash position at the end of the year of US$164 million.

Operating Activities

Zimmer segments its activities into four main product areas; reconstructive, including knees, hips, dental and extremities; trauma; spine; and orthopaedic surgical products (OPS). The reconstructive unit is by far the largest, accounting for 82.8% of Zimmer's total revenue in 2005, while trauma generated 5.5% of sales, spine 4.9% and OSP 6.8%.

The reconstructive segment is mainly operated by Zimmer Orthopaedic, based at Zimmer's global headquarters in Warsaw, Indiana, USA. It also includes Zimmer's Trabecular Metal disjoin, based in Allendale, New Jersey, USA; and Zimmer Dental, based in Carlsbad, California, USA.

Zimmer's spine division is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. The unit originated from the Sulzer Spine-Tech unit, the developer of the BAK Interbody Fusion System, approved by the FDA in September 1996 after 12 years of R&D, and claimed to have revolutionised spinal surgery by providing a functional non-biological means to strengthen spinal fusions. In 1998, Sulzer Spine-Tech was acquired by Sulzer Medica which, in 2002, became Centerpulse. Zimmer Spine currently offers products for interbody fusion, cervical, thoracolumbar, non-fusion and biologic applications.

While Zimmer's trauma operations have been reported as a separate entity in financial reports for some time, they were managed by Zimmer Orthopaedics until 2005, when Zimmer established a standalone Zimmer Trauma business. The unit continues to be based in Warsaw, Indiana, USA, and offers a comprehensive line of products for fixing fractures, including hip fixation products, plates, screws, pins, wires and nails.

The OSP products include tourniquets, blood management systems, wound debridement products, traction devices and orthopaedic softgoods.

This company report provides

• Executive Summary
  • An overview of the company, including operating activities and latest results, at a glance key events and strategic focus.
• Product Portfolio and R&D
  • Sales analysis and detailed monographs of key products and technology organised by business segment, as well as an insight into the company's research and development.
• International Activities
  • The company's revenues, assets and business activities by geographic region and country.
• Appendices
  • 5-year financial assessment
  • Corporate structure
  • Key corporate events
  • Mergers & acquisitions
  • Agreements
  • Litigation

Medical Device Company Intelligence Reports provide a full review of the company's activities, from its origins to its latest corporate activity, including mergers and acquisitions, agreements, divestitures, major purchasing contracts and litigation. Sections are included on products, international activities and R&D, as well as a full, in-depth five year financial analysis. An introduction to each report and a full table of contents is provided for review. More than 60 Medical Device Company Intelligence Reports are currently available.

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