Optos says outlook improving after profits plunge

Eyecare specialist Optos today said it was confident of winning more customers and driving down its costs after it unveiled a 65 per cent plunge in full-year profits.

The Dunfermline-based firm said its customer base had grown by a record 25 per cent during the past year, and it has now installed 1,145 of its Daytona retinal scanning devices.

Chief executive Roy Davis said Optos stood to benefit from lower manufacturing costs for Daytona, which should help the company’s gross margin improve to about 60 per cent in the current year, up from 57 per cent last time.

The upbeat outlook came as Optos reported a pre-tax profit of $9.2 million (£5.7m) for the year to the end of September, down from $26.3m a year earlier, but slightly ahead of City forecasts after a slump in first-half profits.

Davis said: “Following a challenging start to the year, we delivered underlying revenue growth and improved cash generation whilst making good progress with the roll out of Daytona.

“With strong sales of Daytona, our new products progressing well, the building body of clinical evidence and a broadened geographical reach, the board is confident that Optos is well placed to drive sales and profitability in 2014.”