Invacare shares mixed impact from coronavirus pandemic

ELYRIA, Ohio - Invacare provided a business update on March 23, saying demand for respiratory products and beds has increased dramatically but demand for mobility and seating products has slowed.

“While demand of our respiratory products and beds continues to spike, we have experienced a reduction in the momentum of our mobility and seating product line over the past few weeks,” said Matt Monaghan, chairman, president and CEO. “This has been caused by a shift in priorities of our institutional customers, as well as new restrictions on onsite commercial interactions at hospitals and long-term care facilities, all of which is reducing our sales force's access to, and personal contacts with, our customers.”

Invacare has been deemed an essential business as defined by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and all of its global manufacturing facilities are operational.

The company says it's doing all it can to increase production of respiratory products and beds, including working with local and federal agencies to expedite the process of securing necessary materials.

“Invacare is uniquely positioned to be part of the solution combatting this global pandemic as we offer essential healthcare products for those impacted by this virus,” Monaghan said.

For mobility and seating, Invacare believes it will be some time before “normal customer engagement and clinical fittings occur as clinical care areas focus on acute priorities related to this pandemic,” Monaghan said.

“We remain committed to continuing to grow our mobility product pipeline and launch new, innovative products that will help drive profitable growth over the long-term,” he said.

Invacare says it is taking actions to ensure it has the appropriate resources allocated to those business units that are experiencing increased demand, while taking steps to mitigate negative financial and operational impacts of COVID-19.

“As of March 20, we are pleased with our consolidated business performance to-date with first quarter results expected to be in line with previous guidance, including flat year-over-year sales and free ash flow similar to 1Q19,” Monaghan said.