Business review January-March 2020

Forecasts in the industry have set the average growth in the global medical X-ray imaging market to about 5% a year, the security X-ray imaging market to about 6% and the industrial X-ray imaging market to about 5%. COVID-19 has disrupted market dynamics, and experts have varying opinions on future market development. Detection Technology opines that, apart from medical CT imaging, annual growth will remain lower than the aforementioned estimates in 2020.

Business outlook

Detection Technology expects lower demand in the security segment to continue and SBU sales to decrease in Q2. Demand in medical CT applications, however, will remain at a good level, and MBU sales will grow.

Detection Technology expects the demand in medical CT applications to remain at a good level also in H2, and MBU sales to increase in 2020. The company estimates that drop in demand in the security segment will continue at least to the end of the year, and that the industrial segment will grow, but the growth is likely to be below the industry forecast of 5%. As a consequence, the company expects SBU sales to decrease in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic creates extraordinary uncertainty in the global economy, and the predictability of the market is lower than usual.

Whilst Detection Technology has limited visibility to it’s business outlook owing to the COVID-19 crisis, it aims to increase sales by at least 10% per annum and to achieve an operating margin at or above 15% in the medium term.