In the three months to 30 June sales at the group’s Graphics wing grew by 2.9% to €349m (£255.6m).
Agfa said that its new inkjet products launched at Fespa in May, including the Jeti Mira and Jeti Tauro wide-format printers and Acorta cutting table, had helped lift sales.
However, the firm also said that stiff competition in the CTP plates market coupled with raw material price increases had hit profits, despite efforts to mitigate this through efficiency programmes. Gross margin slipped from 28.5% to 28.1%, and EBITDA fell from €28.9m to €20m.
The division’s worldwide results also felt the effects of “softness in emerging markets and the political instability in certain regions”.
UK managing director Joergen Vad said the territory had turned in a positive performance: “As a whole, the UK is doing well. The growth in the economy in the UK means we are doing better, relatively, than most European countries.”
Vad added: “The new inkjet products are really taking off, especially the Jeti Mira because it has a wide potential audience. We’re also seeing a lot of interest in the Asanti workflow. It allows the bigger wide-format print firms to become more organised and efficient.”
He said take-up of Agfa’s Azura chemistry-free plate continued to grow. “The trend to shorter run lengths fits very well with that plate.”
Separately, Agfa also brought out a new product targeted specifically at security printing applications. The Arziro plug-in for Adobe Illustrator is aimed at users producing items such as tickets, stamps and certificates. The firm also released a new version of its specialist Fortuna software used in the design of products such as passports, lottery tickets and ID cards.
Sales at the group’s Healthcare unit jumped by 11.8% to €294m and the division posted a big jump in EBITDA, which was up 40.9% to €45.5m.
The smaller Specialty Products wing, which includes printed circuit boards, posted EBITDA of €7.3m on sales down 2% at €48m.
Overall group sales in the quarter were up 6.1% to €691m, with EBITDA rising by 14.3% to €72m.
President and chief executive Christian Reinaudo said he was pleased with the Q2 performance, and said a €3bn sales target in the medium term was “achievable”.
