Stock down 1.05% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Milan , 17 Jul - Shares of the Italian hearing aid retailer Amplifon were lower in Milan trade, after its Danish peer Demant cut its guidance for organic revenue growth in the wake of a slowdown in its hearing aid and diagnostics sector.

At 0945 GMT, Amplifon shares were down 1.05% to 30.10 euros, underperforming the benchmark FTSE MIB index, which was up 0.02% to 34,376.62 points.

Demant said it now expects organic revenue growth for the year of 2-4% against previous guidance of 4-8% growth.

"Demant's new indications seem to limit themselves to the hearing aid segment (production and supply) and not hearing care (sale of devices to final customers), in which Amplifon, which sells devices from five different players (Demant, Starkey, Sonova, GN and WS Audiology) also operates. However, the indicatons of an increase in competition in channels and segments more focused on price could lead to some caution on the sector today," said analysts at the Italian broker Intermonte.

Currently, the average cost for a hearing aid for the final client varies between 2,000 and 4,000 dollars and "an eventual fall in the ASP (average selling price) not compenstateed by an increase in volumes could further penalize sentiment in the sector after the slowdown in market growth in the main markets during the second quarter," Intermonte analysts added.

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(RADIOCOR) 17-07-24 11:59:10 (0292) 5 NNNN