US healthcare application provider Cerner has reported a strong start to 2012. Its first quarter results, released last week, reveal revenue was 30% up on the same period last year at $641.2m. Net earnings for the quarter stood at $88.7m, up from $64.6m in Q1 FY11. Bookings are also looking good at over $650m, an all-time high for a first quarter and 24% up on the same period a year ago. As a result, Cerner increased its outlook for the full year by 4% - it’s now expecting 2012 revenue of between $2.525bn and $2.6bn, an increase of around 15-18% on last year.
As usual there’s no mention of the UK in the numbers but it’s clear that Cerner’s home US market is driving its growth at the moment. When asked about the NHS market, Cerner’s management were reassuringly realistic about the chances of securing business in a competitive market. Although encouraged by the opening up of the market post the National Programme for IT in the NHS (NPfIT), and by Cerner’s installed base in the UK and its ability to showcase products, EVP Zane Burke described the individual competitive situations as ‘knife fights’. And, as CFO Marc Naughton pointed out, it is all too easy for a company that is new to the market to come ...