The S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ) has delivered a return of 5% for the year compared to the roughly -20% of the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and All Ordinaries (ASX: XAO).
There are many healthcare companies that have vital products and services to relieve the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Here are 3 ASX 200 healthcare companies that are directly engaged in supporting the efforts to treat the coronavirus, or represent excellent growth opportunities at discounted prices.
1. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation Ltd (ASX: FPH)
Fisher & Paykel is strongly positioned to support treatment of the coronavirus with its suite of products that can be used for respiratory and surgical care. Its relevance can be reflected in its surging share price, which is up 40% this year.
The company has 2 core product groups: its hospital product group, which includes humidification products used in respiratory, acute and surgical care; and its homecare product group, which includes products used in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea and respiratory support in the home.
In the company's trading update, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare highlighted the impact of COVID-19, commenting that it has "seen better-than-expected sales in our Homecare product group combined with continued strong growth in our Hospital group. This includes an increase in demand from China related to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak."
While Fisher & Paykel shares are trading near all-time record highs, I believe the company has a plethora of opportunities given the surging amount of confirmed cases in North America and Europe.
2. Nanosonics Ltd (ASX: NAN)
The Nanosonics vision is to establish itself as a standard of care within the ultrasound probe disinfection market. While the company does not have any products or services that play a direct role in combatting the coronavirus pandemic, it does represent an excellent growth opportunity that could get cheaper moving forward.
The Nanosonics share price fell 6% on Friday following its mixed business update. The company outlined that unaudited Q3 FY20 sales were "significantly up" on the prior corresponding period. It also noted, however, that "direct access to hospitals is now becoming more limited which may extend the timeline of planned adoption of trophon by some hospital departments", which it believes may result in lower than anticipated overall growth in the installed base in Q4 and therefore FY20.
While I wouldn't be in a rush to buy Nanosonics shares, the company has a strong track record of consistent performance and more than $82 million in cash and cash equivalents that can provide for balance sheet flexibility moving forward.
3. ResMed Inc (ASX: RMD)
ResMed manufactures a range of ventilators and bilevel devices; both are indicated for home and hospital use, and have the flexibility for use in various clinical scenarios to support patients with respiratory insufficiency and failure. The ResMed share price has rocketed today, up 8.59% at the time of writing.
In the company's second quarter 2020 highlights, it reported a 13% increase in revenue and net operating profit increased by 26%. Mick Farrell, ResMed's CEO, commented that the company is "seeing continued strong customer demand for our new products, particularly in masks and accessories with other quarter of high-teens growth in that category."
I believe that ResMed's relevant product suite and its presence across Europe and Asia will strongly position the company for accelerated earnings moving forward.
