Agfa HealthCare's revenue in the fourth quarter 2010 was almost stable at 317 million Euro. Excluding currency effects, a decrease of 4.7 percent was posted. In Imaging IT, the European markets are starting to show signs of recovery from the effects of the economic crisis. The North American Imaging IT business was soft compared to the previous quarters, but Agfa HealthCare's order book is well-filled. In the field of Imaging, a significant amount of orders were booked for Computed Radiography and Direct Radiography solutions, as well as for hardcopy printers.
The sales mix and the unfavorable raw material conditions impacted the margins. The business group's recurring EBITDA margin amounted to 14.7 percent of revenue and the recurring EBIT margin reached 10.9 percent of revenue.
A major highlight in the fourth quarter was the annual RSNA event held in Chicago (US). With over 5,000 visitors to its booth and hundreds of concrete leads, this was one of the best events for Agfa HealthCare in years. Also in the quarter, the business group received two Information Technology Association of Canada health awards for its contribution in shaping the future of Canadian healthcare.
In Imaging, two of Agfa HealthCare's Computed Radiography (CR) digitizers received Mammographic Type Test certification by EUREF, the European Reference Organization for Quality Assured Breast Screening and Diagnostic Services. In the US, an agreement was signed with National Health Distributors. They will promote Agfa HealthCare's CR systems to their broad customer base. Also in Imaging, Agfa HealthCare extended its portfolio of Direct Radiography (DR) systems. The new DX-D 100 system, for instance, is a mobile digital X-ray unit which is ideally suited for bedside imaging.
In Imaging Informatics, Agfa HealthCare introduced a number of additions to its IMPAX portfolio of Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS) and Radiology Information Systems (RIS). The IMPAX Kiosk, for instance, enables patients to check-in to hospitals without going through the traditional administration desks. The solution reduces wait times and increases patient satisfaction.
Already installed in large healthcare organizations in North America and a number of European countries, the proven IMPAX Data Center also became available for customers in the Nordic region. The solution provides large-scale multimedia storage for all types of medical images and diagnostic results for hospital groups, regional healthcare organizations and national medical archives.
At the end of 2010, Agfa HealthCare served over 2,300 care facilities in over 30 countries with its IMPAX solutions.
In Enterprise IT, Agfa HealthCare launched its HYDMedia healthcare document management system in the UK. HYDMedia enables hospitals and care facilities of all sizes to archive their paper-based documentation, laboratory data and diagnostic images electronically.
In November, an important milestone was reached in the execution of Europe's largest Clinical Information System contract to date. The Ambroise Paré hospital became the first of the 37 Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris hospitals to go live with Agfa HealthCare's ORBIS solution.
At the end of 2010, ORBIS was successfully installed at over 900 care centers in Europe.
Agfa HealthCare - full year 2010
Agfa HealthCare's full year revenue remained almost stable at 1,180 million Euro. Excluding currency effects, a decrease of 3.3 percent would have been posted. As expected, the growth in the IT division did not yet offset the revenue decline in the traditional business. The business group expects to see the turning point in the course of the second half of 2011.
In IT, the Imaging IT business performed according to expectations, with strong growth figures in the emerging markets and growing market shares in North America and Europe. The Enterprise IT business performed well in the German speaking part of Europe, where Agfa HealthCare's ORBIS solution is well established. In France, Belgium and Luxembourg, the business is still in the investment phase. In Imaging, the market for traditional film products continued to decline, whereas Computed Radiography and Direct Radiography performed well.
The business group's gross profit margin stood at 39.7 percent (39.6 percent in 2009). The improved service efficiency in IT compensated for the unfavorable raw material conditions, which started to show their effects in the course of the second half of the year. Agfa HealthCare's recurring EBITDA amounted to 174.3 million Euro (or 14.8 percent of revenue). Recurring EBIT improved to 125.6 million Euro, or 10.6 percent of revenue, versus 9.9 percent in 2009.
Related news articles:
- Agfa HealthCare's Profile
About Agfa
The Agfa-Gevaert Group is one of the world's leading companies in imaging and information technology. Agfa develops manufactures and markets analogue and digital systems for the printing industry (Agfa Graphics), for the healthcare sector (Agfa HealthCare), and for specific industrial applications (Agfa Materials). Agfa is headquartered in Mortsel, Belgium. The company is present in 40 countries and has agents in another 100 countries around the globe. The Agfa-Gevaert Group achieved a turnover of 2,755 million euro in 2009.
About Agfa HealthCare
Agfa HealthCare, a member of the Agfa-Gevaert Group, is a leading global provider of diagnostic imaging and healthcare IT solutions. The company has nearly a century of healthcare experience and has been a pioneer on the healthcare IT market since the early 1990's. Today Agfa HealthCare designs, develops and delivers state-of-the-art systems for capturing, managing and processing diagnostic images and clinical/administrative information for hospitals and healthcare facilities, as well as contrast media solutions to enable effective medical imaging results. The company has sales offices and agents in over 100 markets worldwide. Sales for Agfa HealthCare in 2009 were 1,178 million euro.