Elekta sees several opportunities for continued strong growth
Press Release
Stockholm, Sweden, June 19, 2012
By addressing market demands, Elekta continues to offer the best products and solutions for treating patients while increasing its market share.
At today’s Capital Markets Day in Stockholm, Sweden, Tomas Puusepp, Elekta’s President and CEO, said that the company’s strengthened position in global radiotherapy, will enable more people to receive cancer treatment. To achieve this, the company will focus on its leadership in cancer care with linear accelerators (linacs), driving stereotactic radiosurgery with Leksell Gamma Knife® and realizing the full potential of Elekta’s software.
“Elekta has the leading linear accelerator product portfolio on the market. We launched our revolutionary beam-shaping system, Agility*, in Europe in April and received 510(k) clearance in the U.S. last week,” Puusepp said. “The system will enable patients and clinics in these markets to benefit from the speed and reliability of this innovative system and we are already experiencing strong interest from our customers. Use of Leksell Gamma Knife® continues to expand, and we will maintain our leadership in stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), including treatment of metastatic tumors. Market data in US indicate that treatments of metastatic tumors has had a compound annual growth rate of 11** percent from 2004 to 2010.”
He also spoke of the recent announcement by a major competitor to exit the linear accelerator market, and expects this will further improve Elekta’s growth opportunities. Elekta estimates this opportunity to be in excess of SEK 500 million in annual revenues for Elekta in the coming 2-3 years.
Puusepp said that Elekta’s ambition with its strategic roadmap is to increase net sales by more than 50*** percent between 2011/12 and 2014/15.
Håkan Bergström, CFO at Elekta, explained the importance of Elekta’s installed base of linacs. “We have seen our installed base grow by 8 percent annually, which creates opportunities for aftermarket revenue, such as services, hardware and software upgrades. A large installed base also leads to a growing replacement market. The aim is to increase aftermarket revenue to about 50 percent of net sales.”
Jay Hoey, Executive Vice President Region North America, spoke about his region, where the US is the world’s largest market for radiation therapy. “Elekta is currently growing faster than the market,” said Hoey and added that there is good potential for continued solid growth. “The recent 510(k) clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of Agility will add to the opportunities in US.”
Elekta has seen mixed results in Region Europe & AFLAME with strong growth in Latin America and Northern Europe, but a slower development in Southern Europe. The acquisition of Radon Ltda., the leading linear accelerator service company in Brazil, will significantly strengthen Elekta’s market position. Most of the service contracts held by Radon are with clinics that use equipment delivered by Siemens. Through the acquisition, Elekta’s customer base increased with 25 percent in Brazil.
Gilbert Wai, Executive Vice President Asia Pacific, spoke of his region’s strong growth of
14 percent (excluding Nucletron) in the fiscal year 2011/12. China alone has become Elekta’s third largest market in terms of net sales, while in India, Elekta has the highest linac sales of all vendors. Wai said that to support its continued growth in the region, Elekta will among other things focus on training and education.
The Capital Markets Day was held on June 19 from 13:00 CET, at the Grand Hotel in Stockholm. A webcast from the event is available on Elekta’s website (www.elekta.com).
*Agility is not licensed for sale in all markets. Please contact your local representative for details.
** IMV, 2011.
*** In SEK, with current exchange rates.
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For further information, please contact:
Håkan Bergström, CFO, Elekta AB (publ)
+46 8 587 25 547, [email protected]
Stina Thorman, Vice President Corporate Communications, Elekta AB
Tel: +46 8 587 254 37, e-mail: [email protected]
Johan Andersson Melbi, Investor Relations Manager, Elekta AB
Tel: +46 702 100 451, email: [email protected]
The above information is such that Elekta AB (publ) shall make public in accordance with the Securities Market Act and/or the Financial Instruments Trading Act. The information was published at 13:00 CET on June 19, 2012.
About Elekta
Elekta is a human care company pioneering significant innovations and clinical solutions for treating cancer and brain disorders. The company develops sophisticated, state-of-the-art tools and treatment planning systems for radiation therapy, radiosurgery and brachytherapy, as well as workflow enhancing software systems across the spectrum of cancer care. Stretching the boundaries of science and technology, providing intelligent and resource-efficient solutions that offer confidence to both healthcare providers and patients, Elekta aims to improve, prolong and even save patient lives.
Today, Elekta solutions in oncology and neurosurgery are used in over 6,000 hospitals worldwide. Elekta employs around 3,300 employees globally. The corporate headquarters is located in Stockholm, Sweden, and the company is listed on the Nordic Exchange under the ticker EKTAb. Website: www.elekta.com.