In Fine Fettle

Opto Circuits (Opto) is a Bangalore-based company that manufactures and develops medical equipment that is both invasive and non-invasive in nature. Earlier, the company manufactured and supplied electronic medical sensors used in patient monitoring systems. Later on, with the acquisition of Palco Labs, USA in 2003, it graduated to manufacturing patient monitoring systems. In the non-invasive segment the company offers patient monitors, diagnostic and therapeutic cardiology devices, and PAD (peripheral arterial disease) diagnostic equipment. Altogether this segment contributes 78 per cent of the company’s total sales (FY11). About 61 per cent of the revenue of this segment comes from the US market. Recently Opto acquired Cardiac Science (CS) of the US, which is expected to boost the revenue of its non-invasive segment further. The company forayed into the invasive segment in 2006 with the acquisition of EuroCor. Now, Opto manufactures bare metal stents (BMS), drug-eluting stents (DES), coated balloons, and other invasive equipment required in cardiac treatment. Overall this segment contributes 20 per cent (FY11) of the company’s total sales. This segment’s biggest client is Europe: it contributes 52 per cent of its total sales. Industry outlook The medical electronics industry is highly capital intensive in nature. A lot of capital has to be deployed for sustaining constant innovation. The installation and use of most of the equipment is mandated by government regulation, so medical service providers have to install them. Hence, this industry’s growth is closely intertwined with that of the overall healthcare sector. Non-invasive. According to Opto’s management, the non-invasive part