Sonova Investor & Analyst Day 2019: Highlighting strategic progress and pioneering innovations Dienstag, 15. Oktober 2019 - 07:00

Media Release

Stäfa (Switzerland), October 15, 2019 – Sonova Holding AG, a leading provider of hearing solutions, today holds its annual Investor & Analyst Day where senior management will report on the strategic progress of the Group as well as presenting its latest innovations. A key highlight will be the presentation on Marvel 2.0, which builds on the success of Phonak’s Marvel platform launched almost a year back. The expanded offering adds even more choice and functionalities for consumers. The complete range of new products of Sonova’s brands Phonak, Unitron, Hansaton and Advanced Bionics will be on display at the EUHA congress starting October 16 in Nuremberg, Germany.

Over 100 attendees are expected to attend this key event for investors and analysts at Sonova headquarters this year. “We will provide a comprehensive update on the progress we have made in implementing our Group strategy outlined a year ago. That includes a more detailed look at our achievements and future plans of the audiological care and cochlear implant business,“ says Arnd Kaldowski, CEO of Sonova. “In addition, we highlight Phonak Marvel, the most successful launch in the company’s history, which was very well received by our customers and consumers. With the advancements of Phonak Marvel 2.0, we continue to write the successful Marvel story, further expanding consumer choice and adding additional features that enable people with hearing loss to live a life without limitations.”

Together with the broad range of new products across all of Sonova’s brands, Phonak Marvel 2.0 will subsequently be showcased at the EUHA congress starting on October 16. Among the highlights are:

Phonak Marvel 2.0 – Even more hearing performance, more connectivity and more choice

With Marvel 2.0, Phonak is expanding its portfolio with the introduction of the Phonak Audéo™ M-RT Receiver-In-Canal (RIC) hearing aid with integrated T-Coil as well as the Phonak Bolero™ M Behind-The-Ear (BTE) and Phonak Sky™ M pediatric product families. Thanks to the next generation Marvel technology, all new products combine industry-leading features including direct connectivity with iOS® and Android™1, lithium-ion rechargeability, and outstanding sound quality while adding RogerDirect™ for unparalleled hearing performance in loud noise and over distance.

Since 2013, Roger® technology has served as the standard that bridges the understanding gap in loud noise and over distance by wirelessly transmitting a speaker’s voice directly to the listener. However, until now, hearing aid wearers had to plug an extra receiver and/or audio shoe into their hearing aids or use an intermediary streamer to receive the Roger signal. Marvel hearing aids with RogerDirect eliminate the need for extra components or accessories needed to receive the Roger signal, resulting in a device that’s up to 42% smaller. All current Audéo Marvel wearers can access the RogerDirect feature via a firmware upgrade available via their independent hearing care professional.

Marvel’s reputation for providing industry leading hearing performance was well reflected in the results from a recent survey2:

• 95% of hearing care professionals would recommend Marvel hearing aids to their peers
• 92% stated the biggest advantage of Marvel is the combination of universal connectivity and rechargeability without compromising on sound quality
• 90% of hearing care professionals say Marvel hearing aids provide first-time wearers with exceptional sound quality from the first fit

Phonak also introduced a fully comprehensive updated myPhonak app that is designed to give wearers a more enhanced and personalized hearing experience. In addition to existing Remote Support and Hearing Diary functionality, the enhanced myPhonak app now features more advanced customization options including noise reduction, speech focus and more. For ease of use, Phonak Marvel remote control as well as distant fitting is now fully integrated into the updated myPhonak app.

Unitron expands its Discover platform family by new form factors and telecoil

Unitron expanded its family of hearing instruments on the Discover platform. The new products, Stride™ P R (BTE) and Moxi™ Jump R (RIC) with telecoil offer ultimate ease and convenience with hands-free phone calls, video calls, media streaming to both ears (on mobile phones with iOS® and Android1), proven Sonova lithium-ion rechargeable batteries, and a virtual coach that helps wearers adapt to the care and maintenance of their hearing instruments with ease. Additionally, Unitron’s unique FLEXTM experience innovations, like coach in the Remote Plus app, are focussed on removing barriers and accelerating acclimatization to the new devices. People with hearing loss are empowered to act as modern healthcare consumers to self navigate important features.

Hansaton expands its EXCITE family to include a Design Edition

After launching the hearing system platform EXCITE in June of this year, Hansaton is expanding its EXCITE RIC family to include a Design Edition, which is all about high-quality materials, clear contours, delicate shapes, and modern color accents. The new platform transmits data and audio signals quickly and energy-efficiently between hearing systems with the EXCITE chip and mobile devices1. With the AQ XC product line, it is also available with lithium-ion rechargeable batteries.

Advanced Bionics and Phonak: A win-win-partnership

Advanced Bionics (AB) builds on the unique collaboration with Phonak having introduced the Naída™ CI Connect receiver. Hands-free phone calls and direct audio streaming are a part of everyday modern life that cochlear implant wearers should benefit from too. Naída CI Connect, the most recent innovation Advanced Bionics developed together with leading provider of hearing instruments, Phonak, is an elegant, design-integrated solution which turns the Naída CI Q90 sound processor into a Bluetooth® wireless headset. With built in microphones and compatibility with Bluetooth-enabled phones1, tablets, laptops, and MP3 players, the Naída CI Connect allows cochlear implant wearers to take hands-free phone calls and stream audio directly. Additionally, AB received approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and German TÜV for their Active Insertion Monitoring (AIM) System, an innovative solution for implant surgery and post-op, enabling the monitoring of the surgical procedure in real-time.

The slides of the Investor & Analyst Day presentations are available from October 15, 2019 09.00 am CEST on the Sonova website.

To access the presentations, please visit https://www.sonova.com/en/investors/presentations

1 Smartphones and traditional mobile phones with Bluetooth® 4.2 wireless technology and most older Bluetooth® versions

2 Phonak market survey #1241 “Marvel Post Launch Research B2B,” survey conducted in Canada, Germany, USA, January 2019 (215 participants). Please contact marketinsights@phonak.com

Android is a trademark of Google Inc.

IOS is a trademark of Cisco, Inc.

The Bluetooth® word mark is a registered trademark owned by the Bluetooth SIG, Inc.

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Disclaimer

This Media Release contains forward-looking statements, which offer no guarantee with regard to future performance. These statements are made on the basis of management’s views and assumptions regarding future events and business performance at the time the statements are made. They are subject to risks and uncertainties including, but not confined to, future global economic conditions, exchange rates, legal provisions, market conditions, activities by competitors and other factors outside Sonova’s control. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual outcomes may vary materially from those forecasted or expected. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of the particular statement, and Sonova undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

About Sonova

Sonova, headquartered in Stäfa, Switzerland, is a leading provider of innovative hearing care solutions. The Group operates through its core business brands Phonak, Unitron, Hansaton, Advanced Bionics and AudioNova. Sonova offers its customers one of the most comprehensive product portfolios in the industry – from hearing instruments to cochlear implants to wireless communication solutions.

Pursuing a unique vertically integrated business strategy, the Group operates through three core businesses – hearing instruments, audiological care and cochlear implants – along the entire value chain of the hearing care market. The Group’s sales and distribution network, the widest in the industry, comprises over 50 own wholesale companies and more than 100 independent distributors. This is complemented by Sonova’s audiological care business, which offers professional audiological services through a network of around 3,500 locations in 18 key markets.

Founded in 1947, the Group has a workforce of over 14,000 dedicated employees and generated sales of CHF 2.76 billion in the financial year 2018/19 as well as a net profit of CHF 460 million. Across all businesses, and by supporting the Hear the World Foundation, Sonova pursues its vision of a world where everyone enjoys the delight of hearing and therefore lives a life without limitations.

For more information please visit www.sonova.com and www.hear-the-world.com.

Sonova shares (ticker symbol: SOON, Security no: 1254978, ISIN: CH0012549785) have been listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange since 1994. The securities of Sonova have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or under the applicable securities laws of any state of the United States of America, and may not be offered or sold in the United States of America except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements under the U.S. Securities Act and in compliance with applicable state securities laws, or outside the United States of America to non-U.S. Persons in reliance on Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act.