Bremen, February 17, 2009 - MeVis Medical Solutions AG [ISIN: DE000A0LBFE4], a leading company in the development of disease-oriented software solutions for image-based medicine, achieved consolidated revenues in fiscal year 2008 of approximately EUR 10.7 million (previous year: EUR 7.9 million) with consolidated EBIT of approximately EUR 1.0 million (previous year: EUR 0.5 million), according to preliminary results. Due to the increased financial result in fiscal year 2008, the preliminary net profit before tax amounts to approximately EUR 2.0 million (previous year: EUR 0.5 million).
The surge in revenues of 36 percent over the previous year (27 percent adjusted for acquisitions) was largely due to the market-leading position of several core products as well as the good market acceptance of several newly released products of the company. Nevertheless, overall revenues did not meet the company’s expectations as revenue growth slowed to 22 percent during the fourth quarter. The primary reason for this shortfall was a significant investment restraint on the part of clinical end-users at year-end in the important US market, where MeVis generates approximately 80 percent of consolidated revenues.
The EBIT margin of approximately 10 percent in 2008 (previous year: 6.3 percent) did not meet the company’s expectations. In addition to the slow-down in revenue growth, which has a direct impact on EBIT, company earnings were burdened by high non-recurring legal and consulting expenses associated with the acquisition of the Hologic business from MeVis BreastCare in the fourth quarter. Furthermore the market introduction of the DynaSuite Neuro™ software application has led to a decrease in the activation of personnel expenses in the fourth quarter.
Against the backdrop of difficult market conditions, the Executive Board withdraws the forecast for fiscal year 2009 which was given in October 2008. Given the major uncertainties in the US-market, a reliable outlook is not deemed feasible at this time. However, considering the continuous expansion of the company's product portfolio, the Executive Board is convinced that revenues and earnings in 2009 will significantly exceed the results of the previous year.
The company is still in the process of preparing the financial statements. Therefore, variations may occur on the preliminary figures for the previous fiscal year. The final, audited and certified financial figures for 2008 will be released on April 28th, as scheduled.