Interim report for the first half of the year, May – October 2006: International expansion contributes to increased sales and order bookings in the second quarter

Sectra’s net sales for the second quarter rose 13.0% to SEK 163.5 million (144.7) compared with the corresponding quarter in the preceding year. Profit after financial items increased 16.4% to SEK 15.6 million (13.4), corresponding to a profit margin of 9.5% (9.3). Order bookings rose by 3.4% to SEK 144.5 million (139.8).

Sectra’s net sales for the first half of the year rose 21.5% to SEK 298.4 million (245.5), compared with the year-earlier period. Profit after financial items increased 12.6% to SEK 20.6 million (18.3), which corresponds to a profit margin of 6.9% (7.5). Order bookings totaled SEK 243.3 million (255.3).

Sales of Sectra’s medical systems in the US remained favorable, with order bookings up 146% compared with the corresponding quarter in the preceding year. The large imaging center group X-Ray Associates of New Mexico, which operates radiology clinics in the southwestern US, decided to use Sectra’s system for managing and archiving radiology images.

“We increased our sales in the American market by 18% compared with the corresponding quarter in the preceding year. Having major customers such as X-Ray Associates of New Mexico using our medical systems is strategically important for our ongoing expansion in the US,” says Jan-Olof Brüer, President and CEO of Sectra AB.

Sectra’s sales success with the digital mammography system Sectra MicroDose Mammography continued.

“Our aim is to gradually increase the delivery volumes for our digital mammography system. Market demand is intense. In the first half of the year, we more than doubled sales of our mammography system,” says Jan-Olof Brüer.