Image Scan swings to a loss following aborted acquisition

The AIM-listed outfit turned in a loss of £154,000 for the year ended 30 September - a marked turnaround from the profit of £480,000 reported a year earlier.

Image Scan said much of the loss was a result of £250,000 in legal fees stemming from its cancelled acquisition of Todd Research, which it backed out of after failing to get the support of its largest shareholder.

However, the group also noted that the cancellation of a major order from one of its largest customers in Asia had brought about a 30% decline in sales to £3.5m.

Chief executive Bill Mawer, said: "Image Scan grew rapidly in both sales and profits between 2015 and 2017 and so the cancelled order and the failure of the attempted acquisition have come as disappointments. A decline in portable X-ray orders has exacerbated this."

Looking forward, Mawer said: "Our order pipeline is strong, we have strengthened our team and re-focussed our research and development activity to drive the business forward through organic growth."

Image Scan, which now plans to put much of its focus on the Chinese market, also noted that it anticipates sales of its portable X-ray systems to ramp up in its current trading year.

As of 1130 GMT, Image Scan shares were down 2.02% at 2.79p.