Cooper eyes growth

The contact lens market is resistant to recession and will grow by 3-5 per cent in 2010 according to Robert S Weiss, president and chief executive officer of The Cooper Companies, which includes contact lens manufacturer CooperVision.

Speaking in a conference call to the press about fourth quarter earnings for the period ended October 31, Weiss said: 'Our new products are driving our growth, our emerging silicone hydrogel portfolio is delivering for the quarter. We had $40m in silicone hydrogel revenue, up 117 per cent versus the prior year.' Weiss also disclosed that CooperVision's Proclear family of products 'put up some solid numbers at $70m in the quarter', an increase of 14 per cent on the same period last year.