Surge in sales for Indigovision despite drop in property projects

INDIGOVISION, the Edinburgh-based digital CCTV company, has reported a 12 per cent rise in first half sales despite a sharp downturn in two of its key sectors.

The Aim-listed group reported revenues of 12 million for the six months to 31 January, slightly ahead of broker forecasts.

Chief financial officer Marcus Kneen said the rise came despite a sharp fall in sales to casinos in the United States and construction projects in the Middle East, previously strong growth areas.

Kneen maintained that there was still a strong opportunity from the gaming sector as companies switched from analogue CCTV technology to digital.

He said: "The takings in casinos are significantly down and so they have cut the amount of capital expenditure they are making, but this will just delay the spending until the operators can see their revenue coming back.

"In Las Vegas there is a huge replacement programme coming; they will have to replace tape, it's just a question of when."

Indigovision's operating profits of 1.2m were flat on a year ago, as it ramped up its research budget by 30 per cent, with plans to launch a range of new high-definition cameras in 2011.

"Some businesses would spend on marketing in a recession; we're spending on engineering," Kneen said. Shares in Indigovision dropped 3.4 per cent to 570p.