GENEVA—Alcon (SIX/NYSE:ALC), a global eyecare company with a portfolio of both surgical and vision care products, has announced its financial results for the three- and six-month periods ending June 30, 2024. For the second quarter of 2024, sales were reported at $2.5 billion, an increase of 3 percent on a reported basis and 6 percent on a constant currency basis, as compared with the same quarter of the previous year. Sales for the first half of 2024 were $4.9 billion, an increase of 4 percent on a reported basis and 7 percent on a constant currency basis, compared with the first half of 2023, the announcement said.

Alcon also announced the following changes to its Executive Committee (ECA), which will take effect on September 1, 2024. Ian Bell, currently president, global business and innovation, and a member of the ECA, has been named senior vice president and chief operating officer (COO). Sue-Jean Lin, currently senior vice president, chief information and transformation officer, will step down from the ECA ahead of her retirement from the company. Kim Martin, currently senior vice president, chief human resources officer and corporate communications, will join the ECA.

The second quarter sales increase was led by strong growth in implantables and contact lenses, the company reported. In the Vision Care segment, contact lenses net sales were $636 million, an increase of 7 percent, driven by product innovation, including the company’s toric and multifocal modalities, and price increases. Contact lenses net sales increased 9 percent on a constant currency basis, the company said.

“Our innovation in contact lenses continues to win in the market,” said David J. Endicott, Alcon’s chief executive officer during an earnings call on Wednesday. “In daily lenses we saw another quarter of share gains across the category driven by our product innovation.”

In the Surgical segment, implantables net sales were $464 million, an increase of 6 percent. Excluding unfavorable currency impacts of 3 percent, implantables net sales increased 9 percent on a constant currency basis. Growth was led by advanced technology intraocular lenses in international markets, the company reported.

"We are pleased with our solid second-quarter results, which were driven by robust demand for our innovative products, our balanced geographic footprint and strong execution by our team. These factors contributed to another quarter of sales and earnings growth and robust cash generation," said Endicott. "As we look to the second half of the year, our focus will be on preparing for product launches that will position us well for our next phase of growth in 2025 and beyond.”

During the second quarter, the company received FDA 510(k) clearance for its Unity Vitreoretinal Cataract System (VCS) and Unity Cataract System (CS), the first products to be introduced from Alcon’s Unity portfolio. Commercial launch is expected in 2025.

For the second quarter of 2024, Vision Care net sales, which include contact lenses and ocular health, were $1.1 billion, an increase of 4 percent on a reported basis and 6 percent on a constant currency basis, compared with the second quarter of 2023. Ocular health net sales were $423 million, a decrease of 1 percent. Excluding unfavorable currency impacts of 3 percent, ocular health net sales increased 2 percent on a constant currency basis. This constant currency growth was primarily driven by the portfolio of eye drops, including continued strength from the Systane family of artificial tears. Growth was partially offset by a decline of 4 percent due to contact lens care, primarily driven by the prior-year period benefit from the recovery from supply chain challenges.

For the first half of 2024, Vision Care net sales were $2.2 billion, an increase of 6 percent on a reported basis and 8 percent on a constant currency basis compared with the first half of 2023.

For the second quarter of 2024, Surgical net sales, which include implantables, consumables and equipment/other, were $1.4 billion, an increase of 3 percent on a reported basis and 6 percent on a constant currency basis compared with the second quarter of 2023. Consumables net sales were $736 million, an increase of 3 percent, driven by cataract and vitreoretinal consumables, particularly in international markets, and price increases.
 
Excluding unfavorable currency impacts of 2 percent, consumables net sales increased 5 percent on a constant currency basis. Equipment/other net sales were $223 million, a decrease of 3 percent. Excluding unfavorable currency impacts of 2 percent, equipment/other net sales decreased 1 percent on a constant currency basis as the prior-year period benefited from strong demand for cataract equipment in international markets.

For the first half of 2024, Surgical net sales were $2.8 billion, an increase of 3 percent on a reported basis and 6 percent on a constant currency basis compared with the first half of 2023.

Second-quarter 2024 operating income was $318 million, compared with $270 million in the prior-year period. Operating margin increased 1.6 percentage points, reflecting improved underlying operating leverage from higher sales. 

Second-quarter 2024 core operating margin was 19.8 percent. Core operating margin decreased 0.1 percentage point, including a negative 0.8 percentage point impact from currency. Core operating margin increased 0.7 percentage points on a constant currency basis, reflecting improved underlying operating leverage from higher sales.
 
The second quarter of 2024 included significantly higher inventory provisions in Vision Care due to a supplier-related quality issue which resulted in a negative impact of $30 million or 1.2 percentage points to core operating margin. There were also higher costs of inventory in Surgical, the company said.

First-half 2024 operating income was $686 million and operating margin was 13.9 percent, which increased 2.5 percentage points on a reported basis and 3.7 percentage points on a constant currency basis. First-half 2024 core operating margin was 20.9 percent, an increase of 0.6 percentage points on a reported basis and 1.6 percentage points on a constant currency basis.

Alcon ended the first six months of 2024 with a cash position of $1.4 billion. Net cash flows from operating activities amounted to $871 million in the first six months of 2024, compared with $410 million in the prior year period. 

The company maintained its 2024 net revenue financial outlook with net sales expected in the range of $9.9 billion to $10.1 billion.