Supported by positive currency effects, Agfa HealthCare's revenue increased by 11.2 percent to 297 million Euro. The digital radiography business (consisting of Computed Radiography and Direct Radiography) performed well, adding to the continued growth of the IT segment. Compared to the very weak third quarter of 2011, film volumes also increased.
IT performed strongly in Germany and the North of Europe, as well as in Latin America. Business in the South of Europe continued to suffer from the recession. In the USA, the imaging IT business was somewhat soft.
Thanks to Agfa HealthCare's film price increases and the measures to support profitability, the gross profit margin improved from 32.2 percent in the third quarter of last year to 35.0 percent. Recurring EBITDA reached 27.9 million Euro (or 9.4 percent of revenue). Recurring EBIT improved to 17.1 million Euro (or 5.8 percent of revenue).
In the field of Imaging, Agfa HealthCare's CR 10-X table-top computed radiography (CR) system received FDA approval. The system is now available throughout North America. The CR 10-X system offers small hospitals and practices an affordable way to upgrade from analog to high-quality digital imaging. Also in the third quarter, Agfa HealthCare signed a new three-year multi-source contract with the group purchasing division of the Premier healthcare alliance for its entire portfolio of direct radiography (DR) products. Premier counts over 2,600 member hospitals in the USA.
Furthermore, the Radiologischen Gemeinschaftspraxis Betzdorf became the first healthcare center in Germany to put Agfa HealthCare's DX-D 800 system into service. This complete DR solution is suitable for both static and dynamic imaging.
In Imaging IT, Agfa HealthCare introduced its new Global Remote Incident Prevention (GRIP) services. As part of the GRIP services, a centralized global monitoring center and technical team continually monitor the IMPAX PACS solutions (as well as certain third-party systems) of customers worldwide to identify and prevent possible incidents before they occur. In a later stage, other Agfa HealthCare solutions will also be covered.
Agfa HealthCare also launched a new version of its IMPAX Data Center. The IMPAX Data Center 3.0 enables hospitals and hospital groups to consolidate all imaging data into a single, centralized repository.
In the UK, Agfa HealthCare signed a seven-year contract extension with Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust. The contract includes a full upgrade of their PACS systems and the replacement of eight CR units. The trust will also trial two of Agfa HealthCare's DX-D 100 mobile DR systems.
Agfa HealthCare further strengthened its leading position for Enterprise IT in the German speaking countries of Europe. The St. Josefskrankenhaus in Heidelberg (Germany), for instance, signed a contract for the replacement of its existing Hospital Information System (HIS) by Agfa HealthCare's ORBIS solution.
In September, Agfa HealthCare announced a global strategic relationship with Orion Health, a global leader in health information exchange and healthcare integration solutions. Thanks to the partnership, Agfa HealthCare will be able to extend the reach of both its ICIS solution (Imaging Clinical Information Services), and its ORBIS Enterprise IT platform. Orion Health will include Agfa HealthCare's ICIS solution (including the IMPAX Data Center and the XERO image viewer) in its offering.
- 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 2,948 million euro in 2010.
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 2010 were 1,180 million euro.