While technology stocks allow investors to buy into a hopeful glimpse of the future, Convatec offers a more humdrum view of humanity in the next few decades: people are getting older, and more bits of them are going wrong.
The company makes a range of products that we hope to never need, including colostomy kits, wound dressings and devices to help chronic diseases such as diabetes and Parkinson’s. Convatec sells one in five ostomy bags around the world.
By 2050, the number of people aged over 60 is set to rise to almost 2.1 billion. Obesity levels are also rising, particularly in the US, Convatec’s biggest market, meaning diabetes treatments are becoming a core part of caring for older people.
Convatec’s private equity owners, Nordic