In Q2 sales at the division rose 5.8%, or 7.6% excluding currency effects, to €104m (£89m). For the half-year sales rose 13.1% to €200m, while adjusted EBITA increased by 11.2% to €9.2m.
DP&C benefited from “price increases and strong demand for inks”, with sales for sign and display products continuing to grow as well as at the Inca business acquired 14 months ago.
Agfa claims ink savings of up to 30% are possible using its Onset 560 ink set. The firm told Printweek it was ahead with its plans to switch Inca users over to Agfa ink, with around 10 engines actively running Agfa inks currently “and the number will increase rapidly”.
During the period the group sold its second InterioJet water-based industrial inkjet printer, with the device purchased by Belgian décor paper specialist Chiyoda.
However, profitability at DP&C in Q2 was impacted by weakness, particularly in China, in the electronics industry for products used in the production of printed circuit boards, and by manufacturing inefficiencies for industrial film.
The DP&C division includes Agfa’s Zirfon membranes for green hydrogen production.
Agfa president and CEO Pascal Juéry commented: “Whereas the macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions remained tough for several of our traditional activities, we booked significant revenue growth for our growth engines in HealthCare IT and Digital Print.
“In terms of new business creation, we are on track with the development of the SpeedSet 1060 single-pass packaging printer. When introduced to the market in 2024, it will be the fastest printer in its category,” he stated.
Agfa is planning a customer unveiling event for the 11,000sph, single-pass SpeedSet 1060 later this year.
“Furthermore, as more and more large green hydrogen projects are being implemented, sales for our industry-leading Zirfon membranes are growing exponentially,” Juéry added.
Agfa’s project to build a new industrial unit for Zirfon membranes at its Mortsel site in Belgium has been selected for an EU Innovation Fund Grant.
The group’s sales of film, chemicals and support services to the spun-off offset business ECO3 slipped by 2.4% in Q2 to €18m, and by 11.5% for the half-year at €32m.
It set up a new division, Contractor Operations & Services or CONOPS, to handle that side of the business. Stranded costs of €2m in Q2 related to the offset spin-off were absorbed by its three main business divisions.
Healthcare IT sales for the half-year were up 6.5% at €119m, while Radiology Solutions slipped 4% to €205m.
The net loss for the whole group in Q2 was €14m, and €81m for the half-year. The prior year results were re-stated due to the sale and separation of the offset business.
Agfa said it expected profitability to recover for the full year.
