UK - Axis Shield Posts Positive Sales Performance

Scottish company Axis Shield posted positive financial performance in August 2009, following strong demands for its diabetes testing machine.

By the end of June 2009, Axis Shield had sold a total of 5,000 Afinion machines, compared to 4,000 machines sold during the whole of 2008. The company expects to sell a further 2,500 machines by the end of the year, with 50% of sales in the US.

The Afinion machine can screen blood or urine samples for diabetes indicators. The company now plans to market an Afinion test for high sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hs-CRP), an indicator of cardiovascular disease, and has also secured rights to a new test for sepsis diagnosis.

For the six months up to 30th June 2009, pre-tax profit more than quadrupled, rising from £1.6 million to £7.5 million. Axis Shield ‘s sales amounted to £50.6 million in the same period, rising by 18.5%. The Point-of Care division’s sales amounted to £22.1 million, a rise of 27.3%, while sales from the Laboratory division rose by 23.0% to total £12.8 million.

Further reading - A detailed review of the UK medical device market is available from Espicom: The Medical Device Market: United Kingdom (published June 2009)