Innovation keeps Surgical operating at the front
IT’S BEEN a busy year for Surgical Innovations but that’s the way the company’s finance director Graham Bowland likes it.
A move to new premises in Leeds, a £4m fundraising to aid expansion in the US and the development and protection of new products under the Surgical Innovations brand have enabled the company to post improved results.
The firm, which designs and manufactures innovative surgical devices, has also been busy seeking trademark protection and intellectual property rights on a number of its products and is keen to push the Surgical Innovations brand itself.
“We’ve grown our own distribution network of branded products,” said Mr Bowland. “And we’re taking on the resources for more and more product development.
“We have the money in the bank which we can use to do this.”
Mr Bowland said a major drive for the company, which has moved from its five previous units in Leeds to a 32,000 sq ft headquarters in the city, was to push its own branded devices rather than focusing on manufacturing them for other clients.
He said many of these had been a success in 2007. And the launch of YelloPort Plus, a reusable device which helps access to the abdomen for operations, in the second half of the company’s financial year has achieved sales of £640,000 to date.
In the US, Surgical Innovations has a contract to supply YelloPort, which also has disposable accessories, to one of the largest US hospital groups.
For the year to December 31, pre-tax profit was up 5% to £731,000 on turnover up 7% to £4.77m.
Operating profit was down from £735,000 to £685,000.
Mr Bowland said the move to new premises had allowed Surgical Innovations to take on new designers. The company has also launched a clinical advisory board which is made up of medical experts who are helping to bring new devices to the operating table.
The company was also reorganised into three trading companies in the 2007 financial year: minimally invasive surgery devices company Surgical Innovations; Haemocell, which focuses on autologous blood products; and CORE Precision, which looks at surgical and industrial devices for equipment manufacturers.
Doug Liversidge, non-executive chairman, said: “I am delighted that once again we are able to report improved levels of profit and sales. The domestic and overseas markets in which we operate are growing and we are confident that, with our expanding portfolio of products, we will be able to continue to generate further sales growth throughout the year.
“Our confidence in our future is such that we have just completed a relocation of the business to facilities that provide us with triple the area of floor space and the capacity by which we can capitalise on this increasing opportunity.”
