SYDNEY, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Australian hearing aid maker Cochlear Ltd COH.AX said its half-yearly net profit jumped by a third and that it had raised its full-year earnings forecast on the back of strong China sales and new U.S. customers.
Net profit came in at A$94 million ($67 million) for the six months to Dec. 31, up 32 percent and better than analyst forecasts of about A$86 million, even factoring in foreign exchange losses brought by a tumbling Australian dollar.
Sales to Asia Pacific leapt 69 percent after the company sold 1,700 of its units to the Chinese government during the period, from none the previous first half.
In a statement, Cochlear said it will sell a further 2,400 hearing aids to China in the remainder of fiscal 2016 and 2017 and forecast net profit would grow up to 30 percent for the current full year, compared to analyst forecasts of about 22 percent.
Cochlear shares rose 9 percent to hit an intraday high of A$99.89. ($1 = 1.4075 Australian dollars)