Andor Technology, the Belfast-based manufacturer of high performance digital cameras, said it expects sales to reach £10 million (€14.8 million) in its core markets for the six months to March 31st, 2007.
In a trading update, the company said business in Europe, Asia-Pacific and the US, excluding research sales, had been good in the six months, despite margins being affected by currency fluctuations, particularly the dollar, and by planned increases in costs.
However, it said investments in new technology would bear fruit in the second half of its financial year.
Sales to the US research market were below expectations in the the past three months, due to uncertainty over US Congress passing national scientific research budgets for the 2007 fiscal year, which the company said led to some customers delaying purchasing decisions. However, these budgets have now been agreed and Andor said it expects an improved level of sales in the second half of the year. It said it also expects to see continued growth in India, China and eastern Europe, underpinned by further government funding.
Andor also announced the appointment of Titan Electro-Optics as a new distributor for China and Taiwan. It said it has booked more than £4.5 million in sales in the research and instrumentation sectors for the second half of 2007.
Andor launched a number of products in the imaging, near-infra-red, live cell imaging and astronomy and biosciences markets in the past six months.
