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Medartis Accelerates: TOUCH Surge and Tariff Refund Fuel Guidance Raise

Organic growth hits 17%, EBITDA margin 18%, as U.S. launch beats expectations and tariff complexity is managed through refunds and localization.
MED.SW · Earnings Call · 2026-08-18

H1 2026: A Clear Acceleration

Medartis delivered a standout first half, with Keri Medical and legacy business both contributing. Organic growth hit 17%, while reported revenue rose 30.7% to CHF 160.8 million, helped by M&A contributions from NeoOrtho and Keri. The EBITDA margin climbed to 18%, as CEO Matthias Schupp noted: "We are on track with our organic sales in the first half year, 17% growth. And this is also very important, we could increase our EBITDA margin to 18%." “We are on track with our organic sales in the first half year, 17% growth. And this is also very important, we could increase our EBITDA margin to 18%.” — Matthias Schupp, Chief Executive Officer · 2026-08-18 The U.S. grew 27.4%, with momentum broad-based: "It's not all about TOUCH. Yes, TOUCH is a contribution driver, but we are also doing progress with our legacy business." “It's not all about TOUCH. Yes, TOUCH is a contribution driver, but we are also doing progress with our legacy business.” — Matthias Schupp, Chief Executive Officer · 2026-08-18 This performance underpins a guidance raise to 17-19% core sales growth for the year, a reflection of confidence in continued momentum.

TOUCH Launch Exceeds Expectations

The Keri Medical TOUCH launch in the U.S. has been a standout. The company raised its 2026 procedure target from 1,200 to 1,800 cases after seeing strong adoption in the first six months. Matthias highlighted: "We did around 700 TOUCH in the first half year." “We did around 700 TOUCH in the first half year.” — Matthias Schupp, Chief Executive Officer · 2026-08-18 The ramp-up is gradual due to hospital contracts, but trained surgeon conversion is progressing. As he explained: "Currently, only half of the trained surgeons are doing TOUCH, but not because they don't like, but they do not have a contract in their hospital to do it." “Currently, only half of the trained surgeons are doing TOUCH, but not because they don't like, but they do not have a contract in their hospital to do it.” — Matthias Schupp, Chief Executive Officer · 2026-08-18 The company is also expanding TOUCH in Europe, with mature markets like France growing 20% and newer markets like Germany accelerating. This breadth supports the confidence in hitting the revised target.

Tariff Refund and Production Localization

Managing the U.S. tariff environment has been central to the quarter. The company received a CHF 4.4 million refund from excessive tariffs, which CFO Peter Hackel detailed: "We got refunded by CHF 4.4 million in the first half '26 of this year. We have recognized that fully in the P&L." “We got refunded by CHF 4.4 million in the first half '26 of this year. We have recognized that fully in the P&L.” — Peter Hackel, Chief Financial Officer · 2026-08-18 The refund helped normalize the tax rate to ~12.5%, leaving only a CHF 800k tariff expense in core results. Meanwhile, the company is executing "Project Flash" to shift production to its Warsaw plant, with 70% of local U.S. sales expected to be produced locally by year-end. Peter stated: "Our project to shift production to the U.S. for the U.S. domestic market is fully on track, and we expect to produce around 70% of local U.S. sales in the plant in Warsaw by the end of the year." “Our project to shift production to the U.S. for the U.S. domestic market is fully on track, and we expect to produce around 70% of local U.S. sales in the plant in Warsaw by the end of the year.” — Peter Hackel, Chief Financial Officer · 2026-08-18 This localization reduces exposure to tariff volatility and improves margins over time. The company is also ramping up production facility expansions in Besancon and Curitiba to support future growth.

Leadership and Strategic Outlook

There were notable leadership changes: the U.S. President departed for personal reasons, and CFO Peter Hackel is leading the U.S. team on an interim basis. Matthias explained the decision: "We decided that Peter will lead this team at interim at least until the end of this year because currently, it could not be better." “We decided that Peter will lead this team at interim at least until the end of this year because currently, it could not be better.” — Matthias Schupp, Chief Executive Officer · 2026-08-18 Additionally, Julie Mottet, CEO of Keri Medical, will join the Executive Management Board in 2027, signaling the importance of the integration. The company continues to invest in innovation, with the Titan Nail launch and Proximal Humerus system, and is preparing for the NeoOrtho launch in Mexico and Latin America. The strategic house remains focused on customer centricity, and the strong results validate the cultural transformation.

Based on business performance to date, we are very confident that we can, Peter, elevate the promises, elevate the guidance for the full year to 17% to 19% top line growth.