Varex Imaging reported positive results for its second quarter of fiscal 2017 (end-March 31), stating that they show a strong recovery from a downturn in sales that began in the second half of 2015 and continued through the first half of 2016.
The company's second-quarter revenues were $155 million, compared with $150 million in the same quarter a year ago, an increase of 3%. Net earnings for the second quarter were $15 million, compared with $14.7 million for the same quarter last year. (Because Varex was spun off from Varian Medical Systems in January 2017, the results are compared with Varian's Imaging Components business.)
Varex attributed the increased revenue to sales increases in x-ray sources, connect and control components, and software that were partially offset by a decline in sales of digital detectors. Revenue in the medical segment increased 3% to $126 million in the second quarter of 2017, compared with $122 million a year ago, due to higher sales of digital detectors and software, the company said.
Varex noted that its company-wide gross margin fell to 37% in the second quarter from 39% a year ago, due to higher costs of quality and a shift in product mix to lower-margin radiographic components. The reduced margins were partially offset by increased sales of higher-margin x-ray sources for security applications, the firm said.
