Vision Group's sales offset R&D pain

LUCY ROBERTS

Fulfilment of target sales helped offset some of the pain from the continued heavy investment in research and development by Scottish high technology company, Vision Group.

Best known for its camera-on-a-microchip technology, the group reported an anticipated loss of pounds 1.50m in its first year as a fully listed company compared with pounds 0.7m in 1994, although healthy sales of its new customer counting camera helped bump turnover up to pounds 1.73m from pounds 1.15m in 1994.

Chairman James Miller said that he expected a substantial increase in turnover next year as further products become ready for the market.

Miller warned, however, that a profit for the company was at least another year away as it planned to continue with its policy of substantial investment in product development. Founded in 1990 by Peter Denyer, Vision has up to pounds 7m to enhance its management and infrastructure as well as further develop the world-leading technology which integrates image sensing and image processing on to a single microchip.

It raised pounds 2.5m through a private placing in December 1994 and pounds 4.5m from its flotation this April. Its year end net cash balance totalled pounds 4.6m.

Although its R&D is UK based, over 80 per cent of business comes from overseas, including Asia, Japan and the US.

After a sparkling stock market debut in April this year the market remains undeterred by Vision's loss and marked the shares down one to 161p.

Commercial director Roy Warrender is banking on a new colour camera on track for launch next year to enhance turnover further.