Optos, the Scottish eyecare specialist and rising technology star, posted a 16% rise in revenue and more than tripled its pre-tax profits, in spite of "challenging economic" conditions.
Optos, the Scottish eyecare specialist and rising technology star, posted a 16% rise in revenue and more than tripled its pre-tax profits, in spite of "challenging economic" conditions.
Shares in the company lifted 3.1% on the news, later closing up 0.34% at 73p as the Dunfermline, Fife-based firm also said it was confident about its prospects. Optos's retinal imaging device allows optometrists to see parts of the eye that are usually difficult to examine.
The machines, called Panoramic 200 scanning laser ophthalmoscope devices - branded Optomap - are sold mostly in the US and produce a high-resolution image of the retina in a single capture, allowing identification and prevention of eye disease such as retinal detachment and age-related degeneration at a very early stage.
The company also noted that "both eye and non-eye diseases often first exhibit in the periphery of the retina".
Under its business model, Optos turned over $100.8m for the year to the end of September. The company reported pre-tax profit for the year at $5.9m, compared with $1.6m last time.
Alan Watson, Optos's finance director, said: "We're very pleased. The main driver, I'm sure, is that we have a great product.
"The pay-per-test model is working very well, particularly in this tough economic climate. And the size of the potential market is huge, which gives us confidence for growth in the future."
The company believes it is addressing a largely unchallenged $3bn to $4bn global market opportunity.
While some 90% of the company's business is in the US, Watson added: "We're very pleased with the 61% rise in Europe, although America is far and away our biggest market."
The company is also pushing into Japan, following final product certification recently by the country's ministry of health, and Watson signalled that Optos was planning to use the country as a springboard for future growth in Asia.
Optos's annual results noted that it had achieved an 18% increase in the number of device installations worldwide to 3983.
Meanwhile, the company last month recruited Roy Davis, the former head of Gyrus Group, the keyhole surgery specialist, as its new chief executive, replacing Thomas W Butts, who left the company "to pursue other interests".
Davis said: "Despite challenging economic times, we can look ahead with a good degree of confidence knowing that 91% of revenue generated last year was on a recurring pay-per-patient basis and the customer contract renewal rate remained strong at 89%."
Optos was founded by electronics designer Douglas Anderson in 1992 to help his then five-year-old son, Leif, who had become blind in one eye after a detached retina was detected too late.
Anderson, who was then head of an Edinburgh design company, asked his colleagues to design the device that became Optomap because his son hated lengthy eye examinations.
Anderson still retains a stake in the company he founded.
