In line with the previous quarter, Agfa HealthCare's sales decreased by 5.5 percent to 275 million Euro. The market environment and the activity levels were in line with the previous quarter. The business group's profitability showed considerable improvement. In the Imaging segment, this was mainly due to lower raw material prices and increased operational efficiency. In the IT segment the main reasons were the growth of the business, its improved SG&A cost position and its improved service efficiency. Agfa HealthCare's recurring EBITDA amounted to 35.4 million Euro (or 12.9 percent of sales). Recurring EBIT improved strongly to 22.7 million Euro, or 8.3 percent of sales.
In the field of Imaging, Agfa HealthCare successfully completed the first installation of its DX-D 500 Direct Radiography system (DR) at the Dortmund Knappschaftskrankenhaus (Germany). The DX-D 500 is a complete DR solution, suited for a very comprehensive range of X-ray examinations. A series of new contracts in - amongst other countries - France, Germany and Spain have been signed in the third quarter.
In Imaging Informatics, the U.S. Air Force selected Agfa HealthCare's IMPAX Data Center to manage and share clinical information and images across all of the USAF's medical facilities in the United States. Over the years, Agfa HealthCare has built a strong presence in the U.S. military and Veterans Affairs hospitals and medical treatment facilities. In Canada, the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec (CHUQ) has successfully implemented Agfa HealthCare's IMPAX 6 Picture Archiving and Communication System. As an integral part of the Quebec Government's eHealth initiative, IMPAX 6 has helped CHUQ move to digital radiology.
As part of the United Arab Emirates Ministery of Health's national health information system program, Agfa HealthCare will install its IMPAX 6 solution as well as a number of Computed Radiography solutions at 34 healthcare facilities. In Enterprise IT, the interfaces between Agfa HealthCare's leading Hospital and Clinical Information System ORBIS and SAP Controlling, SAP Material Management and SAP Financial have been officially certified by SAP. The interfaces are used to bidirectionally transfer data from ORBIS to SAP. In recent months, Agfa HealthCare was able to strengthen its presence in the Enterprise IT markets in Germany (e.g. SLK Kliniken Heilbronn GmbH), France (e.g. Centre Hospitalier Du Mans and Centre Hospitalier Intercommunal Créteil) and Luxembourg (e.g. Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg and Centre Hospitalier Emile Mayrisch).
Related news articles:
- Agfa HealthCare's Profile
About Agfa
The Agfa-Gevaert Group is one of the worlds 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 3,032 million Euro in 2008.
About Agfa HealthCare
Agfa HealthCare, a member of the Agfa-Gevaert Group, is a leading provider of IT-enabled clinical workflow and diagnostic image management solutions, and state-of-the-art systems for capturing and processing images in hospitals and healthcare facilities. Agfa HealthCare has over a century of healthcare experience related to diagnostic imaging and has been a pioneer on the healthcare IT market since the early 1990's. The business group has sales offices and agents in over 100 markets worldwide. Sales for Agfa HealthCare in 2008 were 1,223 million Euro.