Cochlear has posted a $20 million dollar loss in the first half of its financial year after a massive recall of one of its most popular ear devices.
The hearing implant maker's earnings plunged into the red for the half year to December 31 after having to fork out more than $100 million to recall faulty Nucleus C1500 devices.
Cochlear described the first half of the financial year as challenging, due in large part to its global recall.
So far the cost of the recall had hit $138.8 million before tax, the company said.
'While the $20 million loss was disappointing, the recall costs have been quarantined and importantly, a record number of recipients received a cochlear implant in the first half,' Cochlear chief executive Chris Roberts said in a statement.
The hearing implant maker said it did not expect to experience supply shortages like it did in late 2011, when it launched the product recall.
As of January 31, the proportion of Nucleus C1500 series implants reported as failed was 2.4 per cent of registered implants globally.
'With the ongoing manufacturing ramp-up, we do not anticipate we will be supply constrained in the second half of the year, as we were in the December quarter,' Cochlear said.
