Euro dip for Omega test kit maker

By DOMINIC JEFF
Published on 21/11/2012 21:33

MEDICAL testing-kit maker Omega Diagnostics promised a better performance in the current half year after the weaker euro hit profits over summer.

The Alva-based firm said currency-related losses on German operations and one-off restructuring charges meant adjusted pre-tax profits in the six months to September were down 12 per cent to £380,000.

Revenues were flat at £5.5 million, as sales gains in the UK and continental Europe offset problems in Germany.

Chief executive Andrew Shepherd said sales in India, where the company appointed a new distributor in July, were accelerating. As well as a growing market, the new distributor is outperforming the previous model.

He said that, in the longer term, Omega’s test for monitoring HIV patients provided the biggest opportunity to enhance shareholder value. The test is due to be launched next year and the firm recently secured a grant from Scottish Enterprise to ­increase its manufacturing capacity. Production will be low key in the first year but could lead to 40 more jobs in Alva, Shepherd said.

Robin Campbell, healthcare expert at broker Seymour Pierce, said external factors, such as a weak pollen season, accounted for the relatively weak results.

“The interim results highlight both the importance of this strategy and its opportunity,” said Campbell.