Biocompatibles, which bought the Hydron contact lens business last year, reported sales of its Proclear lenses increased by 38 per cent in the first six months of 2001.
Efforts by the Hydron sales team, which Biocompatibles said was a major reason for the £38m purchase, are bearing fruit, particularly on the continent.
The global companyÕs eye care division improved sales by 17 per cent to £24.4m from last yearÕs £17.3m. There are signs that Proclear, the divisionÕs flagship lens with BiocompatiblesÕ phosphorylcholine (PC) technology, is establishing a strong base following sales of £11m (2000: £8m).
In Europe, sales for the first half of 2001 grew by 40 per cent to £14.9m, of which £10.4m were non-PC products acquired with Hydron.
Sales of the Proclear line of products grew to £4.5m mainly in the countries where the purchase of Hydron provided direct new sales forces Ð France, Spain, Italy and Holland.
Richard Needham, chairman, commented: ÔA private-label contract with Pearle, the optical retailer which has 700 outlets in Europe, has also been an important early success with the PC technology for the marketing and sales staff who joined with the acquisition of Hydron.Õ
He said that a project to stock the Proclear Compatibles Toric lens in 80 target accounts in the UK had made excellent progress, and claimed the Hydron Farnborough plant had turned the corner. ÔAfter a poor start to the year, the Farnborough manufacturing site has made good progress with delivery performance and quality improvement.Õ
Overall, Mr Needham said the operating loss for the group was below earlier expectations at £9m, which in part reflected lower than planned efficiency in the Eye Care DivisionÕs factories.