IndigoVision warning despite record sales

INDIGOVISION, the Edinburgh-based digital CCTV specialist, yesterday warned that it expects its operating profits to be lower than last year, despite another 12 months of record revenues.

In a pre-close update, the company noted that its gross margins were lower than in 2009 due to a change in its sales mix. But IndigoVision expects to post record sales for the year to 31 July, up by 6 per cent to some 28 million. It is due to release its full-year results on 29 September.

The firm told investors: "Sales growth was strong in Latin America, and there was good sales performance in the UK, northern Europe and Asia Pacific."

Projects running in Latin America include a system in Brazil to monitor 12 remote gas facilities spread across the Amazon rainforest from a central control room in Rio de Janeiro.

But sales in North America, southern Europe and the Middle East sales were down on last year due to lower activity in casinos and hotels.

As a result, police stations and prisons replaced casinos as the strongest performing sector within the firm's business.

In a deal unveiled last month, the Canadian city of Calgary installed the company's technology as part of a surveillance system, with 50 cameras also being fitted at the city's convention centre.

In yesterday's update, IndigoVision said transport was also an "active sector", with installations at Delhi airport in India and rail systems in Brazil and Canada.

In June, the company's digital CCTV systems were installed inside two new terminals at Charleroi Brussels South and Lige airports in Belgium.

Greig Aitken, an analyst at house broker Brewin Dolphin, which upgraded its rating from "add" to "buy", said: "Despite this year's setback, we believe that there is still significant opportunity for growth in the internet protocol CCTV market, and we expect a return to higher levels of growth next year."