Regulatory News:

SuperSonic Imagine (Paris:SSI) (Euronext: SSI, FR0010526814, PEA-PME eligible), a company specialized in ultrasound medical imaging, today announces its revenue for the 4th quarter and full year to December 31, 2015.

Bernard Doorenbos, Chief Executive Officer of SuperSonic appointed in December 2015, comments: “We are aware of the relative sales underperformance recorded in Q4 2015. Since this quarter, we have undertaken strong measures to optimize our internal organization and our commercial strategy, in order to significantly improve our presence in our specialty-based higher value markets: breast and liver. More than ever we are determined to intensify our efforts to return to a growth level in line with our initial expectations, while increasing our global shareholder communication.”

In thousands of euros   2015   2014   Change
Products   2,861   2,612   +10%
Services 371 309 +20%
First-quarter sales   3,232   2,921   +11%
Products 4,579 4,788 -4%
Services 440 410 +7%
Second-quarter sales   5,019   5,198   -3%
Products 4,759 3,924 +21%
Services 440 505 -13%
Third-quarter sales   5,199   4,429   +17%
Products 6,110 6,808 -10%
Services 504 406 +24%
Fourth-quarter sales   6,614   7,214   -8%
Products 18,309 18,132 +1%
Services 1,755 1,630 +8%
Total sales   20,064   19,761   +2%
Other revenues   1,655   1,819   -9%
Total revenues   21,719   21,580   +1%

A difficult Q4 2015 for product sales (Aixplorer)

In Q4 2015, SuperSonic Imagine recorded sales of €6,614k, a decrease of -8% compared with Q4 2014. The quarterly sales breakdown is relatively heterogeneous from a geographical point of view, with an overall drop in Product sales of -10% to €6,110k.

This decrease over the quarter should be put into perspective, with strong performance recorded in the United States (direct sales up +52% to €1,411k) and China (+19% to €1,503k), the Company’s main regions of growth, along with Eastern and Southern Europe and the Middle East (+45% to €1,328k).

The decrease in sales was marked by an underperformance of the Company’s direct sales teams in France (-33% to €961k) and in other regions of activity, where distribution networks failed to deliver the performance anticipated by the Company.

Sales of Services increased by +24% over the quarter to €504k, and accounted for 8% of total sales.

2015: building the transition for future growth

Over 2015 as a whole, SuperSonic Imagine generated sales growth of +2% to €20,064k, driven by Product and Services sales that grew respectively by +1% to €18,309k and +8% to €1,755k. At constant currency, sales would have been down -6% to €18,641k.

This weak growth, below Company expectations, was achieved in a context of commercial and managerial transition. The impact of the strategic shift initiated in the United States following the termination by the Company of its exclusive distribution partnership in breast cancer was €1,232k in 2015, including €193k in Q4 2015. The Company is anticipating a less significant residual impact in 2016, deploying further marketing actions targeting health specialists.

As well as the impact of this transition in the United States, the disappointing performances of Aixplorer’s annual sales were also a result of falls in France, Northern Europe and certain other regions. In France, the direct sales teams had to operate in a particularly difficult economic environment and recorded a -12% decline in Product sales to €3,236k.

SuperSonic Imagine has put in place a new business execution plan in the United States, focused on expanding its direct sales force, by clinical specialty. The upturn in growth in the United States has been marked by a +30% increase in direct sales of Aixplorer (Products) to €2,756k in 2015, although this could not totally offset the impact of the ending of the local distribution contract. Aixplorer’s global sales performance was also bolstered by solid growth in China (+46% to €4,594k) and in Eastern & Southern Europe and the Middle East (+42% to €2,824k).

As of December 31, 2015, SuperSonic Imagine had an installed base of more than 1,300 Aixplorer platforms worldwide, 28% of them in the Americas, 45% in EMEA countries and 27% in Asia.

Other revenues, which essentially consists of non-recurrent fees to access the Group’s technology, totaled on December 31, 2015 €1,655k (vs. €1,819k in 2014).

Next press release: 2015 full-year results, on March 14, 2016

About SuperSonic Imagine
Founded in 2005 and based in Aix-en-Provence (France), SuperSonic Imagine is a company specializing in medical imaging. The company designs, develops and markets a revolutionary ultrasound system, Aixplorer®, with an UltraFast™ platform that can acquire images 200 times faster than conventional ultrasound systems. Aixplorer® is the only system that can image two types of waves: ultrasound waves ensure excellent image quality and shear waves, which allow physicians to visualize and analyse the stiffness of tissue in a real-time, reliable, reproducible and non-invasive manner. This innovation, ShearWave™ Elastography, significantly improves the detection and characterization of numerous pathologies in several applications including breast, thyroid, liver and prostate. SuperSonic Imagine has been granted regulatory clearances for the commercialization of Aixplorer® in the main global markets. Over the past years, SuperSonic Imagine enjoyed the backing of several prestigious investors, among which Auriga Partners, Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners, Bpifrance, Omnes Capital and NBGI. For more information about SuperSonic Imagine, please go to www.supersonicimagine.com