William Demant - parent company of Oticon and Bernafon - has reported earnings before interest and tax of 1.0 billion Danish crowns ($177.4 million), an 18 percent fall year on year. Sales last year dropped 2 percent to 5.4 billion crowns, and the Danish company said that it believed that average selling prices came under pressure, particularly in the second half of 2008. 2009 will see two new product launches from the William Demant group in the lower end of the mid-range price segment and they will also be starting to develop bone-anchored hearing aids. “For 2009, we estimate flat volume growth in the market and average selling prices are expected to contribute neutrally or negatively to market growth,” Demant said in a statement.