The battle to lead the growing compact ultrasound industry has raged for five years between SonoSite Inc. and GE Healthcare.
SonoSite had the head start, getting to market first with its system in 1999. GE’s first hand-carried model debuted in 2002. They’ve become popular because of their performance, compact size and lower price — typically $40,000 to $90,000, compared to several times that for a big ultrasound system.
As with any good battle, there’s even disagreement about who is ahead and where.
GE and SonoSite are neck-and-neck in worldwide sales, at least according to available figures from the companies. SonoSite took in revenue of $171 million during 2006, while GE reported its compact ultrasound sales totaled $174 million.
“Worldwide, it’s pretty close, with GE probably ahead,” said Harvey Klein, president of New York-based Klein Biomedical Consultants Inc. “In the U.S., SonoSite is definitely No. 1.”
Bob Toomey, chief equity strategist for EK Riley Advisors, said he suspects SonoSite actually leads sales domestically and internationally, despite the figures GE gives out.
“If you viewed it on a pure apples-to-apples basis,” he said. “I still would say SonoSite’s way ahead of GE.”
He also points out that GE’s figure includes revenue from service of its ultrasound machines. SonoSite, which claims the industry’s best warranty, has little revenue from service of its machines.
For the record, both companies claim to be No. 1.
In terms of how many devices both have sold, SonoSite seems to clearly have the lead. The Bothell company says it has 36,000 ultrasound units in use around the globe. GE declined to give its unit figure.
Klein said he expects Sono-Site, GE and Zonare to continue to lead the hand-carried ultrasound industry in the next two to four years. He noted this segment is the fastest-growing in the ultrasound industry, with sales in the U.S. alone growing by 41 percent last year. Klein predicts sales of compact ultrasound systems will reach $1 billion by 2012.
Eric Fetters
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