Axis Communications has admitted uncertainty in the global economy has affected its growth rate and the market trends leave the rest of 2013 unclear.
The firm has announced its first quarter interim results, showing net sales increased by 11 per cent during the first quarter of 2013 to Swedish Krona (SEK) 982 million (£101 million). Operating profit was shown to increase to SEK 89 million and profit after tax amounted to SEK 66 million.
Growth during the first quarter of this year remained at the same level as the end of 2012 and Ray Mauritsson, President at Axis Communications, predicted the whole of 2013 would develop at a similar level seen last year.
“We continue to see a great need for surveillance solutions and interest in network video is still growing. During the period, we saw a positive trend in the number of project inquiries compared to the previous quarter,” he said.
Growth level for network cameras was found to be lowered by macroeconomic uncertainty, but Axis is buoyed by the number of project requests it saw during the period.
The firm predicts an important factor in potential growth will be increased penetration in smaller-scale installations and in emerging markets. It claims success from its project pipeline which shows “proof of a continuous stable development” and growth quarter by quarter.
“The scenario we have now is very much like the scenario we had in 2012 when it comes to the expansion of the project pipeline and the growth following that,” he added. “Overall we see the whole of 2013 developing at roughly the same pace as 2012.
“It is still difficult to judge the market trend, but the underlying demand and the on-going technology shift mean that good potential exists for a continued positive development in network video.”
