Image Scan Holdings Regulatory News (IGE)

19 Mar 2009 07:00



 19 March 2009

Image Scan Holdings plc

("Image Scan" or "the Company")

TRADING UPDATE

Image Scan, specialist in the field of real-time 3D and 2D x-ray imaging for the 'Homeland Security' and 'Industrial Inspection' markets, is pleased to present a trading update to coincide with the AGM being held at 11am today.

Notwithstanding the difficult economic conditions, the Company has secured orders of over £1m in the year to date, mainly from within the security sector.

Order intake includes confirmation of the £630,000 Chinese contract for further Axis-3d® x-ray baggage screening systems following the successful deployment of a number of units at the Beijing Olympics. These are scheduled for delivery in May and June.

In January, the Company received orders for ten of its portable x-ray screening systems, FlatScan-TPXi, from its distributor, iCM, who had sold a number of units into Thailand and Egypt. In addition the Company secured its first direct sales into India for security screening products which are destined for New Delhi Railway Station. More recently, first sales into Canada arose from an order placed by the Vancouver Police for a FlatScan-TPXi system.

The Company has experienced a slow down of orders and enquiries from the industrial sector, which reflects its reliance on the automotive market. Expected contracts for inspection equipment onto new production lines have been postponed with the exception of a sale to Johnson Matthey for their plant in Japan which was received in November. In addition, following the successful sale of equipment last year for the inspection of Li-ion batteries in Taiwan, the Company is seeking to capitalise further on its inroads into this sector with the expectation of follow-on sales through a programme of marketing activities to Li-ion battery manufacturers in the Far East. 

The Company exhibited at the Counter Terror Conference and Expo in February, at which Mr Fox, the Company's Chief Technical Officer, was invited to give a presentation on the use of x-ray screening in the fight against terror. Subsequently, there was significant interest in the FlatScan-POD which is a portable screening cabinet used in conjunction with the FlatScan-TPXi and is currently being deployed by the British Transport Police at mainline stations as part of their 'stop and search' initiative.

Following the considerable level of interest from India in the Company's security products after the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, the Company is working with an Indian business adviser to develop a market entry strategy in order to capitalise on these early sales and to exploit the future opportunities within the Indian market.

In terms of sales, the Company has experienced a slow start to the financial year with revenue in the 5 months to February 2009 totalling £230,000. This reflects the low level of order intake between July and November 2008. Recent success in securing orders leaves the current order book at £900,000, all of which is scheduled for delivery in the remainder of the year. 

In December, the Board took remedial measures to restructure the Company which resulted in redundancy costs of £50,000 and ongoing annualised overhead savings of £168,000. The Company now has a workforce of 14 staff including executive directors, but is actively seeking to recruit a sales executive to support the Sales and Marketing Director.

The Company anticipates signing a lease for new premises and will be moving in October 2009. The existing lease is due to expire and cannot be renewed. Suitable offices have been located within 5 miles of the Melton Mowbray area which will provide workshop and office accommodation at a cost comparable to the existing premises.

Image Scan's CEO, Louise George, commented, "The Company's immediate priority is to seek to secure further sales in the second half of the current year. This will be assisted by a number of sales and marketing initiatives to raise the Company's profile that have been embarked upon: the appointment of a new PR agency; relaunching the website to promote enquiries; addressing key security conferences; actively promoting the Company in India and lobbying the UK Government to support UK technology. We are also reviewing how we should capitalise further on our sales into China.  With an additional sales executive on board, we should be able to hasten progress in each of these areas".

-ENDS-

For further information, please contact:

Image Scan Holdings plc  Tel: +44 (0) 1664 503 600

Gilbert Chalk, Chairman

Louise George, CEO

info@ish.co.uk

Bishopsgate Communications Ltd  Tel: +44 (0) 207 562 3350

Jenni Herbert 

Siobhra Murphy

Seymour Pierce Tel: +44 (0) 207 107 8000

Richard Feigen

Sarah Jacobs

About Image Scan Holdings plc 

Image Scan Holdings plc (AIM: IGE) is focused on the development and commercialisation of market leading real-time 3D and 2D x-ray solutions for use in the global industrial and security inspection markets. The Company's industrial inspection solutions include the MDXi unit and the DEX systems. The security portfolio includes Axis-3d®, a unique 3D baggage inspection system for corporate and airport security, and FlatScan-TPXi, a portable bomb and suspect package detection system. 

Current Technology Portfolio

The Company's portfolio currently comprises of the following x-ray inspection systems: Axis-3d®; MDXi; FlatScan-TPXi and the DEX x-ray vision engine for OEM applications.

For further information on the Company, please visit: www.ish.co.uk - and for further information on its products, please visit: www.3dx-ray.com