Supported by positive currency effects, Agfa HealthCare posted solid double digit revenue growth. In the Imaging segment's digital radiography business (consisting of Computed Radiography (CR), Direct Radiography (DR) and the hardcopy business), the DR product range continued to grow strongly, while the hardcopy product range also performed well. Furthermore, the IT segment posted considerable revenue growth. The strong performance of the segment's Imaging IT Solutions proves the success of Agfa HealthCare's measures to respond to the changing conditions, in particular in the US healthcare market.
Continuing the trend of the previous quarters, Agfa HealthCare's gross profit margin reached 39.8 percent of revenue, compared to 37.6 percent of revenue in the second quarter of 2014. Profitability was supported by the business group's successful efficiency programs (mainly in the field of services) and - to a lesser extend - to favorable raw material effects. Recurring EBITDA and recurring EBIT improved strongly to 45.5 million Euro (15.5 percent of revenue) and 38.9 million Euro (13.2 percent of revenue) respectively
In the field of Imaging, Agfa HealthCare launched the fully automated DR 600 digital X-ray room at the Deutscher Röntgenkongress in Hamburg, Germany. The ceiling mounted DR 600 offers a broad range of options that allow hospitals to tailor their solution to their needs.
In the US, a multi-million dollar imaging contract was signed with the leading Prime Healthcare Services hospital management company. The company will install a minimum of 50 DX-D 100 mobile DR systems at its 34 acute care hospitals. The Canadian Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre selected the DX-D 600 solution to transition two X-ray rooms from analog imaging to DR. In the UK, Agfa HealthCare has won the contract to install a number of CR and DR solutions for the Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust.
In the field of Imaging IT Solutions, Agfa HealthCare introduced its Enterprise Imaging Exchange Program which establishes a secure health information exchange network between collaborating health providers, allowing them to exchange and share medical imaging data. A major imaging IT contract was signed in Russia, where the Moscow City Department of Healthcare chose Agfa HealthCare Enterprise Imaging as its central imaging and teleradiology solution. The solution will consolidate the radiology results of 63 sites and make them accessible across the Moscow health infrastructure. In Austria, Agfa HealthCare will install a central Vendor Neutral Archive for the storage of the medical images and related data of 21 hospitals in the Lower Austria region. In the UK, contracts for the installation of the Agfa HealthCare Enterprise Imaging platform were signed with the City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust and the Birmingham Dental Hospital and School of Dentistry. In Saudi Arabia, the King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital started using Agfa HealthCare's picture archiving and communication system (PACS) and DR X-ray room. In Poland, Agfa HealthCare will install PACS and CR solutions in a number of hospitals in the Kujawsko-Pomorskie and Lubuskie regions.
In the field of Healthcare Information Solutions, Agfa HealthCare announced the integration of the speech recognition software of the Nuance company in its ORBIS clinical information system. Agfa HealthCare also announced the commercial launch of a new version of its Enterprise Content Management (ECM) system. The ECM solution allows care facilities to digitally archive their paper-based and electronic documentation. For its Healthcare Information Solutions, Agfa HealthCare reported strong order intake in the German speaking region of Europe. Important contracts were signed with e.g. KPlus Gruppe GmbH in Solingen and the private hospital group Schön in Prien am Chiemsee.
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 2,865 million euro in 2013.
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 2013 were 1,160 million euro.