Agfa Signs 28 German deals in Q1

Diagnostic imaging and IT systems company, Agfa Healthcare, has announced that it has signed 28 new customer agreements in Germany in the first quarter of 2010.

The agreements are for its Orbis hospital information system and clinical information system, its Impax picture archiving and communication system (PACS) and HYDMedia, Agfa’s document management system (DMS).

The Orbis software allows staff to manage and monitor all patient-oriented processes such as medical, nursing, administrative and business, as well as providing complete availability of a patient’s history.

The company signed Orbis contracts with, among others, the Schön Klinik Harthausen in Bad Aibling, Klinik Feldafing, Rechbergklinik Bretten, Fürst-Stirum-Klinik Bruchsal, the Asklepios Krankenhäusern Burglengenfeld, Nabburg, Oberviechtach, the Diakonie Klinikum Kassel as well as the Kreiskrankenhaus Schmalkalden.

New customers also signed deals to install Agfa’s PACS including the Klinikum Stuttgart at four of its locations, the Schön Klinik Hamburg-Eilbeck, the Klinikum Kirchheim-Nürtingen in Nürtingen, the Behandlungszentrum Vogtareuth, the St. Marienkrankenhaus and St. Annastift in Ludwigshafen, as well as the Asklepios Klinik Bad Oldeslohe.

Additionally, Agfa HealthCare also concluded several large contracts for its document management system, HYDMedia, with the Diakonie Klinikum Stuttgart, the Klinikum Emden, the Katholischen Klinikum Duisburg as well as with Saarland-Heilstätten.

The DMS enables the archiving of medical information such as diagnoses, radiology results, microfilms and clinical and administrative documentation. It also supports hospital information management across hospital, clinical and laboratory information systems.

Winfried Post, general manager Agfa HealthCare Germany, said: “Agfa HealthCare’s strong market presence has once again been re-enforced by the arrival of 28 new customers, and this success confirms that our strategy is the right one. We look forward to a fruitful commercial relationship with these new customers, today, tomorrow and in the future.”

Agfa-Gaveart recently reported its end year results for 2009, which showed that action to cut costs and increase efficiency has helped Agfa HealthCare to offset a decline in revenue and to increase profitability.

The group announced that the healthcare division saw its revenue drop 3.7%, from €1,223m in 2008 to €1,178m in 2009. However, EBITDA increased from €115.8 to €168.0 or from 9.5% of revenue to 14.3%.

The healthcare division showed greater resilience to the economic crisis than the group overall, which saw its revenue fall 9.1% in comparison to the previous year, with gross profit down 7.8% from €961m in 2008 to €886m in 2009.

The company said that anticipated a “weaker top line performances” in the Q1 of 2010 following a strong end to 2009.