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AtCor Medical Holdings Ltd.: AtCor Medical Achieves Profitability

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^{Published in Business and Finance on Thursday, February 19th 2009 at 11:32 GMT, Last Modified on 2009-02-19 11:33:03 by Market Wire}  

ITASCA, IL and SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA--(Marketwire - February 19, 2009) - AtCor Medical Holdings Limited (ASX: [ ACG ]), the developer and marketer of the SphygmoCor® system which measures central blood pressures and arterial stiffness non-invasively, today announced a profit after tax of AUS$180,477 for the first six months of fiscal 2009 (First six months of fiscal 2008: AUS$ 1,678,798 loss). Sales were AUS$ 5.4 million, a 76% increase over the first six months of fiscal 2008 and a record for the company. On a constant currency basis, sales increased by 64% over sales in the first six months of 2008.

The entrepreneurial company's positive earnings resulted from its strong sales performance, continued focus on expense management and the depreciation of the Australian dollar against AtCor's major export currencies. Expenses were up by 12% compared with the first six months of fiscal 2008, with approximately 40% of this increase attributable to the Australian dollar devaluation and 30% attributable to higher sales commissions and bonuses related to company performance. Gross margin for the half was in line with the first half of 2008 at 83%.

Operating cash outflow fell by over 50%. With increasing sales, strong trade receivables and a continued reduction in cash outflow expected, AtCor does not anticipate a need to raise funds for operating purposes in the foreseeable future.

Outlook

AtCor chief executive officer Duncan Ross said, "We are delighted by these strong results, which reflect growing appreciation of the importance of central blood pressures and of the key role that SphygmoCor can play in patient care. We are off to a good start for the second half and maintain our guidance of a 55% sales increase to over $10 million for the full year. As the vast majority of our sales are exports while non-sales related expenses are incurred in Australian dollars, AtCor will continue to benefit from the discount of the AUD against the major currencies.

"We are focused on leveraging our expense investment to optimize sales and margin as we drive the business towards our goal of continuing positive cash flow and earnings," Ross concluded.

About AtCor Medical

AtCor Medical develops and markets products for the early detection of cardiovascular risk and management of cardiovascular disease. Its technology allows researchers and clinicians to measure central blood pressure non-invasively. The company's SphygmoCor® system visibly identifies the effects of reflected blood pressure in the central aortic pressure wave, effects which cannot be detected with standard blood pressure monitoring. More than 1,800 SphygmoCor® systems are currently in use worldwide at major medical institutions, research institutions and in various clinical trials with leading pharmaceutical companies. The company's technology has been featured in over 400 peer-reviewed studies published in leading medical journals. AtCor has operations in Australia, the United States, and Europe. For further information, please visit our web site at [ www.atcormedical.com ]