Optos eyes strong start to the year for scanner sales

Eye scanner firm Optos today said it had won 274 new customers during the first quarter of the year, although revenues dipped 4 per cent amid tough economic conditions across Europe.

The Dunfermline-based company said revenues for the three months to 31 December slipped to $40.3 million (£25.4m), from $41.9m a year earlier, driven by a decline in finance and operating leases as more customers opted to buy its devices outright.

Chief executive Roy Davis said Optos sold 267 of its Daytona device, which launched in the US in October, and has agreed a deal to supply a further 250 on a rental basis to a “major” corporate customer over the next 12 months.

He added: “Whilst continuing economic difficulties in Europe have adversely affected trading conditions in this relatively modest market for Optos, trading elsewhere was strong in December and continues to be so in the first weeks of the second quarter.”