Siemens Healthineers saw strong growth in its Imaging business in the first quarter of fiscal 2020, with revenues rising almost 7% after currency adjustments. But profit margins in the business slipped.
For the quarter (end-December 31, 2019), the Imaging business posted revenues of 2.221 billion euros ($2.456 billion), up 9.9% on a nominal basis and up 6.7% after adjustment for currency effects compared with 2.021 billion euros ($2.235 billion) in the corresponding quarter of fiscal 2019. Revenue was driven by strong performances in x-ray, molecular imaging, and MRI. On a geographic basis, the Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Australia regions performed well, while the Americas region declined slightly.
Profit margin slipped slightly in Imaging, however, with the business posting an operating profit of 386 million euros ($427 million) in the most recent quarter and a margin of 17.4% compared with a profit of 402 million euros ($445 million) and a margin of 19.9% in the same period the year before. The company said the margin dip in the Imaging segment was due to an "unfavorable mix of different margin profiles in businesses, geographies, and market segments." The company said it expected the mix to normalize over the coming fiscal year.
Siemens said the first quarter marks the beginning of the "upgrading" phase of its Siemens Healthineers Strategy 2025 plan. In Imaging, the plan calls for the company to continue making investments in digitization by launching new products, such as two versions of its AI-Rad Companion software for analyzing MRI data, one for prostate and one for brain imaging.
