Lincor weighs up flotation on expanding sales figures

LINCOR Solutions, a privately-owned Cork-based hospital technology manufacturer, is strongly considering a stock market flotation within the next year, in order to accelerate growth.

The company — founded five years ago by former Apple computer employees Pat O’Donnell, Enda Murphy and Dan Byrne — makes and provides hospitals with bedside patient entertainment/clinician access devices. These give patients access to television, radio, telephony lines, video-on-demand and internet access and also allow doctors to call up a patient’s records on screen by their bed.

“The entertainment capability of the machines is really the trojan horse by which we enter the hospitals. The real opportunity lies in the healthcare and quality aspect, in helping doctors and specialists to bring up on-screen details of a patient’s records and use the system to educate them about their conditions,” said chairman Dan Byrne.

Lincor has 10,000 systems installed worldwide. In Ireland, it has serviced the Bon Secours Hospital in Cork as well as St John’s Hospital in Limerick. Overseas, it has supplied hospitals in the US, Canada, France, Belgium, Holland, Spain, Italy, Malta, Bulgaria and Britain, arguably its biggest market.

Earlier this year, Lincor won the emerging company of the year 2007 award from Cork Chamber. Only last week, it received the company of the year award 2008 by the French-Irish Chamber of Commerce, which recognises Irish companies who have made a mark in the French market.

Lincor generated turnover of around €7 million last year. It is aiming for revenues of between €9m and €10m this year. Reaching €10m would be when the firm would consider seeking a public listing, likely via the Alternative Investment Market in London.

“The main option for growth is going public, which we’d prefer, with the other seeing us being bought out by a bigger market player. We’re already winning business contracts ahead of bigger players like Philips and Siemens, so we’re already in a strong position,” Mr Byrne added.