Stryker's first-quarter sales were up 21.4 percent as the company focuses on closing its acquisition of Wright Medical.
Executives including Kevin Lobo, chair and CEO, and Glenn Boehnlein, CFO, spoke about the company's performance and future April 27 during the first-quarter earnings call.
Three takeaways:
Wright Medical acquisition. The integration of Wright Medical into Stryker's organization is going well, Mr. Boehnlein said, and proceeding more quickly than its K2M integration, which occurred in 2018.
"We have mixed management teams that are leading, [and] a lot of the Wright Medical leadership team has come over," he said, as transcribed by Seeking Alpha. "Key leadership roles and the momentum is terrific, and we baked in a certain level of synergies. Even on the cost side, I think we're making progress a little bit more quickly than we had expected."
Robotics sales. Mr. Lobo said the company's plan for Mako robots hasn't changed since the pandemic began, and sales are increasing. About 50 percent of the company's accounts have new software for the systems to accommodate hip replacement as well as knee surgery.
"Overall, we remain bullish about Mako and what it brings," he said. "Other competitive systems like Velys or Rosa haven't slowed us down at all. If anything, what they've done is they've increased the validation that robotics are going to stay and there is really a demand for Mako."
Outpatient surgery. Mr. Lobo acknowledged knee and hip replacement procedures are moving rapidly into the ASC setting and said the company is prepared.
"We are delighted with the ASC offense that we put together really over the last two years," he said. "We have a unique way that we go to the market for ASC, a new sales organization that we created, and we really bring the best of Stryker because we have everything they need in the ASC."
He said the company has been more successful with placing Mako surgical robots in ASCs than he initially imagined two years ago when developing its ASC strategy. The company also signed a deal with Conformis to develop simplified offerings for ASCs that require less sterilization and a more customizable package for centers.
"We're excited to get FDA approval and we look forward to being able to offer that to our ASC customers," said Mr. Lobo.