Sales slump forces 3D Diagnostics to seek potential partners

DENTAL equipment maker 3D Diagnostic Imaging is in discussions with potential partners after failing to achieve “any meaningful level of sales traction” in the second half of 2011.

Reporting results for the first half of its financial year, the Dundee-based firm admitted to being frustrated as sales slumped to less than £68,000 – down from £566,000 a year earlier.

There have been signs of improvement, but 3D Diagnostic is exploring alternatives to bolster its financial position after net cash fell by nearly half to £1.07 million. No one from the Aim-quoted company was available to comment yesterday, though interim chairman David Snow said in a statement that the board was considering “potential ways to further strengthen the balance sheet”.

The firm has already tapped institutional investors via a £1.4m placing in October. Cost-cutting kept the pre-tax loss capped at £987,000, in line with the loss of £981,000 in the previous half-year. Measures included the closure of a US office and the deferment of directors’ bonuses.

Sales were affected by a manufacturing fault in 3D Diagnostic’s main product, CarieScan Pro, a hand-held device for the detection of tooth decay. The fault has been corrected and the technology further upgraded, winning CarieScan Pro a number of industry plaudits in the UK and the US.

It hopes to improve trading performance on the back of these recommendations, but Snow conceded other factors, such as economic uncertainty, were also holding back sales.