Agfa HealthCare’s sales slump slows

Agfa HealthCare’s fourth quarter sales continued to decrease, dropping 2.8% compared to the fourth quarter of 2008.

The Belgium healthcare giant’s chief executive said he was “pleased” with the figures, achieved in the face of a “full economic crisis.”

The preliminary Q4 results for last year show sales of €316m, but the company says that excluding currency effects, sales would be at the same level as they were in Q4 2008, at €325m.

However, the company’s earnings before interest and tax for Q4 2009 are expected to be around €39m (12.3% of sales) compared to €14m in Q4 2008.

Agfa-Gavaert’s overall fourth quarter results amount to €735m, which was a 3.4% decline compared to Q4 2008. The company attributed the slide to changes in currency rates.

However, the company identified that the company’s EBIT is expected to be around €73m (9.9%) sales versus €31m in 2008.

Agfa-Gevaert’s chief executive officer, Jo Cornu, said: “We are obviously pleased with these results, which we achieved in full economic crisis. In the fourth quarter of 2009, we have taken full benefit of the efforts of the past two years to reduce costs and improve operational efficiency.

“The Agfa HealthCare business group continued its strong operational performance in the fourth quarter, which traditionally is the strongest one of the year.

"The Agfa-Gevaert Group has returned to profitability and net debt is significantly down. We are well positioned to take advantage of some of the recent growth initiatives in 2010.”

Along with the results, the company has also announced that Christian Reinaudo, who leads the group’s HealthCare division, will take over from chief executive Jo Cornu at the end of April 2010.

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